


A Past Forgotten

by Sara1991



Category: Tokyo Mew Mew
Genre: Abuse of Power, Abusive Relationships, Accidental Drug Use, Anal Sex, Birthday Sex, Blow Jobs, Breast Fucking, Brother/Sister Incest, Car Sex, Custody Arrangements, Cutting, Double Vaginal Penetration, Drugged Sex, Drunk Group Sex, Drunk Sex, Dry Humping, Electroconvulsive Therapy, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, First Time Blow Jobs, Friendship, Gentle Kissing, Gentle Sex, Group Sex, Ice bath, Incest, Lesbian Sex, Loss of Control, Loss of Innocence, Loss of Parent(s), Loss of Trust, Loss of Virginity, Love, Love Confessions, Making Love, Marijuana Use, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Molestation, Moving, NO rape, Oral Sex, Past Abuse, Past Kidnapping, Past Torture, Possessive Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychic Abilities, Psychologist Abuse, Public Sex, Reincarnation, Roses, Rough Sex, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Semi-Public Sex, Sex, Sex Toys, Sex at work, Sexual Roleplay, Shower Sex, Sibling Incest, Trauma, Underage Sex, Using a High Power Hose on Patients, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Walking In On Someone, Watching Someone Sleep, past history, pot brownies, sex at school, spiked drinks, watching someone masturbate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24656290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sara1991/pseuds/Sara1991
Summary: I have Writer’s Block & I’m bored & a bit sleep deprived…So I apologize in advance.When he was only four years old, Wesley was kidnapped; his name hasn’t always been Coolridge.  Now, nineteen years later, he finds out the truth when social services contact him.  He only finds out shortly after his father was killed, leaving behind a younger sister, he never knew he had.  He agrees to take on custody of his younger sister.  But soon after, weird things start to happen; they find out there’s more to their lives than they thought.Warning: Contains Incest!  DO NOT READ IF THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN HANDLE OR ARE OFFENDED BYI DO NOT OWN TOKYO MEW MEW/MEW MEW POWER OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS; I ONLY CLAIM THE STORY & CHARACTERS I CREATE!I have Grammarly Premium to help me with my grammar now. hopefully it'll be better.
Relationships: Aizawa Mint/Fujiwara Zakuro, Akasaka Keiichirou/Halley-Hope Amara (OC), Fong Pudding/Tart, Meguro Tasuku/Shirayuki Berry, Midorikawa Lettuce/Pie, Momomiya Ichigo/Quiche, Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Shirogane Ryou/Halley-Hope Amara (OC)
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Characters:**

  * Elliot Grant-19 x Halley-Hope Rose Amara-15
  * Wesley Coolridge-23 x Halley-Hope Rose Amara-15
  * Dren Ikisatashi-16 x Zoey Hanson-15
  * Sardon Ikisatashi-18 x Bridget Verdant-15
  * Tarb Ikisatashi-14 x Kiki Benjamin-13
  * Renee Roberts-17 x Corina Bucksworth-15
  * Venessa (Nessie or Nessa)-17 x Fallon Harper-16
  * Tyler Meguro-16 x Aria Russo-16 (Just to clarify-Tyler = Tasuku & Aria = Berry)
  * Dallas Alexander-19 x Savannah Campbell-17
  * Carter Paige-14 x Nixie Faye-13
  * Antonio (Tony) Jasper-Deceased
  * Conrad-71 x Tessie-67



* * *

It was a lovely day out; the sun was shining, there were no dark clouds, and the animals were all making happy noises.

“Hello, I’m so sorry, but you just missed us; we literally just closed a few minutes ago and are currently shutting down for the night. You can call back tomorrow between the hours of 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM.” Bridget said softly, answering the phone.

 _“Oh dear, I’m not calling for any pastries; I’m calling to speak to Mr. Coolridge. I know I shouldn’t be calling this number, but it’s the only one I have right now…and this is an emergency.”_ An older sounding lady said simply; she sounded like she was upset or something.

“It’s ok ma’am. Please hold for a minute or so.” Bridget said calmly.

 _“Of course.”_ The lady said softly.

It took her a few minutes, but she eventually found Wesley and Elliot in the new lounge.

“What’s going on, Wes?” Elliot asked, concerned, looking at his best friend.

Knock. Knock.

“Wesley…” Bridget said softly, walking in.

“What is it, Bridget?” Wesley asked as calmly as he could.

“You have a phone call… It sounds like an older lady; she sounds upset or something. She says it’s an emergency.” Bridget said softly, holding her hand over the speaking part of the phone.

“Ok. Thank you, Bridget.” Wesley said calmly, taking the phone; Bridget lightly bowed before heading out.

“Hello?” Wesley asked on his end with a sigh.

 _“Mr. Coolridge, it’s Tessie, Tessie Amara…”_ The lady said with an upset tone of voice.

“Oh, Mrs. Amara, how are you doing? Are you ok? Is Mr. Amara ok?” Wesley asked, sitting up straight.

 _“No, I’m afraid not…in a sense. Physically, Conrad and I are fine. Mentally and Emotionally however… I’m afraid I have a confession to make…”_ Tessie said softly.

“What’s going on? Do you need me to come over for anything?” Wesley asked right away.

 _“I don’t want you to hate us…”_ Tessie started before trailing off.

“Oh, I could never hate you.” Wesley said right away.

 _“I’m afraid you might after what I’m about to tell you. Conrad and I…we’ve been lying to you for the past few months…in a sense. Well, it’s more like, we’ve been keeping something from you. And no…you coming here today wouldn’t be the best thing… But then again, I’m not sure with that either.”_ Tessie said softly, sadly as she started crying.

“Mrs. Amara, what’s wrong?” Wesley asked right away, seriously, standing up.

Elliot was just watching in concern.

 _“Your name is Wesley J. Coolridge…but that’s not what it was originally; you were kidnapped as a child…”_ Tessie started explaining.

“How did you know that?” Wesley asked in shock, really getting Elliot’s attention.

 _“Have you heard about your sister yet?”_ Tessie asked right away.

“………” Nothing but shocked silence.

 _“Wesley?”_ Tessie and Elliot asked concerned.

“How do you know that?” Wesley asked again after a few minutes.

_“Because your biological father was our son, making you our grandson. We knew right away…right, when we saw you that first time. You look just like him…except for your eyes; you have your mother’s eyes. Please let me explain. We didn’t tell you because I wasn’t a hundred percent sure; I wanted to be a hundred percent sure. Conrad wanted to tell you right away. But the problem with that is that, if we were wrong, we wouldn’t feel let down again._

_We, I, didn’t want to feel the pain again; we looked for years. We only quite when we could no longer handle it…physically. Your father, however, never stopped looking. Anyways, and Conrad may not be sorry about this, but I am, I am deeply sorry; we got your DNA and fingerprints from cups and other things you used for proof. We got the results a few weeks later; they were a hundred percent positive: you are our grandson. So, Conrad being Conrad, wanted to tell you right away. But I stopped him.”_ Tessie started explaining.

“Why?” Wesley asked, confused; he didn’t know whether or not to be upset or not.

 _“Because you were so young when you were taken from Tony and Kinsley. Your twenty-three now; it’s been so many years. Whenever we saw you, you always seemed so happy…When we asked you about your family, you said you had a happy life; I couldn’t take that away from you. I couldn’t just turn your entire world upside down. That and I didn’t want to lose you again; I couldn’t bear to lose you again. So, yes, I made Conrad promise not to say anything, and we kept that from you. Wesley, I really am sorry.”_ Tessie said, very upset.

“No, don’t be, I get it; I really do. I get where you were coming from. You know…in a way, I appreciate you not telling me; because yes, I did have a good life. But that good life was nothing but a lie. In a way, I would’ve also liked to know who you are to me, or who I am, or rather, who I was supposed to be. So, I would’ve liked to know that my parents weren’t really my parents and that really, I was kidnapped when I was a small child.” Wesley explained calmly, really shocking Elliot, who just sat down.

 _“So, you’re not mad at me…or Conrad?”_ Tessie asked softly.

 _“He has no reason to be mad at me; I wanted to tell him in the first place.”_ Wesley heard Conrad in the background.

“No, I’m not mad at you. You were just doing what you thought was right.” Wesley said calmly, but with a deep sigh.

 _“You never answered my question before. Do you know of your sister?”_ Tessie asked calmly…or as calmly as she could.

“Yes, I was just told about her a few hours ago; I ran into some social service men on my way back to the café. They let me know that I had a little sister. But that’s all they told me…” Wesley explained, before being interrupted.

 _“They didn’t tell you anything about her?”_ Tessie asked, somewhat shocked.

“No; they just said that her dad was just killed in some kind of accident, and that her mother was unfit to raise her.” Wesley explained, earning an irritated sigh from Tessie.

 _“Yes, her **and** your father was killed, but it was no accident. You could ask your sister, but she’s “crazy,” as declared by her previous psychologist. However, that’s a load of shit. As for her mother…that woman…she’s not fit to be a mother in the first place. The rotten piece of fucking shit that she is… She can rot in a hole for all I care. Sorry about that; she’s just not a good person. She hurt your sister so much…but I won’t get into that right now. I know this is a lot to ask…but Conrad and I are unable to raise her because of our ages and such; not to mention, we’re going to be in a nursing home in the next three and a half weeks…at the beginning of next month. I just wanted to know…”_ Tessie explained and then started to nervously ask him something.

“You want to know if I’ll take responsibility and take custody of her.” Wesley finished what Tessie couldn’t finish.

 _“Would you?”_ Tessie asked, hopeful.

“Yes, the social service people mentioned that. So, after reading everything over, I signed the papers; I will take custody of her. That just leaves finding a place to move to. The files said she had cats; I don’t want to have to make her get rid of the only kind of comfort she has at the moment. However, I can’t just up and move away from where I live now; I need to live in the same area. Also, there are only two things I’d like to know about her at the moment. I’m sure after some time, I’ll be able to get her to tell me a little about her. But anyway, I would like to know her name and age. From the looks of it, the pen that was used to fill everything out was dying; it looked as if there was a name written before Rose Amara. Is her name Rose, or something starting with an ‘H?’” Wesley asked, really shocking Elliot.

 _“Oh, thank you so much! No, Rose is her middle name; her full name is Halley-Hope Rose Amara, and she just turned fifteen four days ago on April 2nd. Oh, and by the way, just so you know, Halley-Hope is just one name hyphened; she does, however, just go by Halley. And don’t worry about finding a place to live; Conrad and I left our house to you and Halley after we are put into the home. You’ve been to our house before… Granted, it’s changed since the last time you were here…well since Halley’s been here; she’s been fixing things up…”_ Tessie sighed.

“You don’t sound thrilled about that.” Wesley said, sitting down, placing the phone on speaker as his arm was getting tired while mouthing to Elliot, that he’d explain everything in a little bit.

 _“You’ve been through the house…you’ve been in the basement; she’s been fixing up the stairs…using clay bricks that she made. Yes, they’re safe and very sturdy; she explained that it had something to do with the type of clay and how long it stayed in the kiln. She already had the bricks and steps made before she even got here. Who would’ve thought she had that great of a memory?”_ Tessie said with a smile.

 _“You know it ain’t got nothing to do with memory; her memory is horrid. She uses that freaky ability of hers. Damn witch…”_ Wesley and Elliot heard Conrad in the background.

 _“She’s not a witch…or a leprechaun! I’m sorry about him… I’m Italian and Conrad is German; so, your father is half Italian and German. Your mother is Italian and English. Yes, she’s still alive, but we don’t know how to get a hold of her; she no longer speaks to us. That also, unfortunately has to do with Halley. No, it’s not her fault; your mother…she just couldn’t handle or deal with you being kidnapped. According to Tony, when he ran into her again, Halley was six; your mother flipped out on him, asking him why or how he could have another kid when you were still missing or even dead. How could he just move on and forget about you? He explained that he never forgot about you and he was still searching; he even told Halley who you were and everything. That’s when your mother really lost it and swore up and down that no matter what, you didn’t have a younger sister. If she were to ever find you again and have kids with her new husband or whatever, they’d be your siblings…your only siblings.”_ Tessie started explaining.

“Well, that’s simply crazy… As long as she has half of his DNA, and I have half his DNA, we’re siblings.” Wesley explained calmly.

 _“You said siblings…”_ Tessie said softly.

“Yes… Is something wrong with that?” Wesley asked, confused.

 _“Oh, no. Sorry about that. It’s just that, when I tell other family members about you and Halley and the fact that you don’t have the same mothers, they always refer to you as only being half siblings. Or, just because you only have the same father, you two could date and such because you’re not real siblings. Well, that’s just hogwash. Well, now we don’t talk and they’re completely out of the will. Not just because of the entire sibling thing, there are just some other issues that you don’t need to worry about right now.”_ Tessie explained calmly.

“Again, we share the same DNA from a parent. I don’t get or believe the whole half sibling thing. Same DNA and same parent; we’re siblings, plain and simple. So, I’m English, German and Italian; that would make Halley German, Italian and…Irish? That’s why you said she’s not a witch or leprechaun?” Wesley asked calmly.

 _“Yes, that’s correct; Halley is German, Italian, and Irish; her mother is Irish and German. Unfortunately, just because she’s a little Irish, your grandfather doesn’t really want anything to do with her; he does not like the Irish for some reason. I don’t care either way; she’s family, and that’s all that matters…to me, anyway. Yes, because she’s Irish, your grandfather has a habit of calling her a leprechaun. Him calling her a witch…that’s a whole different can of worms. Halley is…well, she’s different…”_ Tessie started explaining.

 _“Different is an understatement. Excuse me. Wesley, if you know what’s good for you, you will reverse your decision of taking custody of her. I don’t care what your grandmother or anyone has to say; that girl is a witch, plain and simple! The way she always knows when something’s going to happen, or how she’s always sleepwalking, or how she’s always talking to her cats or cats in general. Oh, but my favorite thing is when she uses the blender, making all sorts of weird things. Fine, I can except when she makes pastas and such; but whatever she makes in that blender. What’s worse, is that’s she’s clumsy and very accident prone. Your grandmother goes ahead and gives the girl permission to change the basement into her secret lair or whatever. She’s messing with the stairs. Servers her right, it does.”_ Conrad said when he took the phone away from Tessie.

 _“Give me the phone!”_ Tessie yelled, grabbing the phone back.

 _“Ow! What the hell woman?!”_ Conrad yelled after Tessie smacked him over the head.

Meanwhile, Wesley and Elliot just stared at each other with confused looks as they listened to Tessie, and Conrad argue.

 _“Sorry about all that. Are you still there?”_ Tessie asked when she finally got back to Wesley.

“Yes, I’m still here.” Wesley said calmly.

 _“Yes, your sister is different, as she seems to know when something is going to happen. I don’t particularly care for when she looks up and says, “phone,” or “door,” and up to a minute later, the phone rings, or someone’s knocking at the door. That, I will say, freaks me out a little. Yes, she talks to her cats, and it seems like they actually talk back; she seems to understand them just fine. For the most part, I’ve gotten used to her…quirks. What she makes in the blender is usually some kind of shake; she loves ice cream. And she’s really good at it…just like her cookies and cakes that she makes. Well, we make them together when we can. Those cookies and cakes I send with you every other week; those are her recipes. And yes, Conrad, I know they’re just cookies; I know the entire recipe. She also makes homemade pasta; she’s even getting better than me. But that might be because I’m having a harder time with everything. As for her being clumsy… I wouldn’t say she’s necessarily clumsy; she’s more accident-prone. We never use the basement anymore, so yes, I let her have it; she uses it for her art stuff…mainly pottery, I think._ _I know her new kiln and a few potter’s wheels came in the day after she got here. I guess what I don’t understand is what she needs so much clay for… Seeing what she did with the stairs...they are definitely easier to get down; they don’t creak or move. She also draws, sketches, colors, paints, and makes glass beads. She plays piano a little, violin and sings a little, and not in front of people; she’s incredibly shy and sensitive. But she’ll dance…I suppose that’s one good thing her mother ever did for her. But I’m not going to get into that. With all that, I think her favorite things to do are writing and reading; if she’s not downstairs doing some kind of art project, she’s writing or reading a book…mainly writing or typing.”_ Tessie explained happily.

“Wow…that’s a lot of talent.” Wesley said, somewhat shocked. 

_“But with all that talent and such, there comes the bad or not so good. For the most part, your sister had a good childhood…a good life. She had her dad, stories, pictures of you, and what used to be your favorite teddy bear. She also has two great friends, who moved all the way here to be with her. She, for some reason, has a hard time making friends; asides from the two that moved here with another family member, she had one other friend; but she hasn’t seen him in years. But, moving on… I’m telling you this because I’m not sure she will: from what I understand, she’s either self-conscious, or in denial, or something like that. That's according to a past shrink; I’ll get to him later. Now, I’m still a little unclear about what happened, but she died for a few minutes when she was little. Needless to say, your father nearly had a heart attack; in his mind, he had already lost you. Then, at that point, he was losing his second chance at being a parent, his baby girl. But she was brought back, which is fantastic...an amazing miracle. But it only caused Tony to become even more of a helicopter parent. However, for some reason, that changed when she met her two friends, Venessa and Fallon; he loosened up, just a little. But she did legally die for a few minutes, and although she did come back, she came back with more problems than she already had. I guess I should explain the beforehand. Because of her mother, she was born a month and a half early. For the most part, she was fine…except for her lungs; they weren’t fully developed, and she spent three or four months in a NICU. For the most part, her lungs are fine; they’re just a lot weaker than most and she has to use an inhaler. She was diagnosed with ADD and social anxiety at age two; so, unless she’s at a potter’s wheel, she doesn’t or can’t sit still. Hell, she doesn’t even really sit still at the wheel; one of her knees is always moving. Her mind is always moving as well. Now we get to four; she was four when she died for a few minutes. We weren’t informed on what happened, and I didn’t push; she’s alive, and that’s all that matters. What I do know is that because she was dead for over three minutes, she wasn’t getting oxygen to her brain. So, she’s a little slower and she shakes when she walks.”_ Tessie explained but stopped to take a breather.

“Jeez…” Wesley and Elliot said at the same time.

 _“I’m not done yet; there’s more. And, you must be Elliot; Wesley’s mentioned you a few times. If you wish, you’re welcome to move into the house as well; there are four rooms here. But, back to Halley…you remember when I said she played piano?”_ Tessie asked calmly.

“Yes…” Wesley said, unsure.

 _“She used to play a lot of classical music really well; her favorite one to do was Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” And she still plays it from time to time. This is where I get to her mother; she didn’t know she was pregnant with Halley until she was about six and a half months pregnant. When she found out, she begged to have an abortion; however, time was up for that, and she wasn’t allowed to. So, after she was denied that, she did everything she could to try to miscarriage; nothing worked. Until she got in a car accident and went into labor early. I understand she was, or is, what people call a party girl. She didn’t know she was pregnant… Ok, I get that; it may not be common, but it does happen. So, I get it, she drank, smoked cigarettes and pot. I’m so glad she never did any of the harder drugs. But even after she found out, she continued to drink and smoke cigarettes and pot. Now, I’ve said I understand that she didn’t know. But at four months, when Tony mentioned something to her, she should’ve gone to a doctor and stopped. Moving on…_ _When Halley was roughly six or seven months and still didn’t have a name, her mother found out that Tony wanted her; so, she bartered with him. His car and like twenty thousand dollars; she tried to get his house, but I wasn’t letting that happen; that house was under my name, not his. She didn’t get anything; I was there when she tried that, I had the police with me. She was arrested, and he was granted full custody; so, he named her. However, no matter what, she seemed to pop up and enter Halley’s life. It wasn’t until she was eight that Halley decided she had had enough and completely cut her mother out of her life. It only took that bitch driving drunk and high, with an eight-year-old Halley in the front seat, without a belt, on the highway. She leaned over, opened the door, and pushed Halley out of the car. Every day, I thank God that Halley knew enough to put her hands up, over her head, and tucked up into a ball. I think she had a broken ankle and knee. But her hands and wrists: her left hand and wrist were shattered entirely, in several different places. And the right one; I think she was lucky to have a broken wrist and a few clean breaks in the hand. She can no longer play the piano like she used to. I’m not sure if it bothers her as much as it bothers me; I suppose, I just wanted her to go far with it. Halley looks at it this way: as long as she can use her hands to write, read, and work on her art, she’s happy; she doesn’t have to or want to rely on other people to do things for her. And while I believe that’s the right attitude, I still feel bad for her. Although she cut her mother from her life, she doesn’t blame her for anything she’s done to her. Nope. Do you know who she blames?”_ Tessie asked in somewhat of an annoyed tone.

“Please don’t say herself…” Wesley sighed; however, he knew that was where this was going.

 _“Sorry, can’t do that; she blames herself…for anything bad that happens in her life. She has incredibly low self-esteem and would rather see others happy over herself.”_ Tessie explained with a snap in her voice.

“Sounds almost familiar…” Elliot mumbled, looking at Wesley.

 _“Which part?”_ Tessie asked calmly.

“Wesley would rather see someone else happy over himself. Granted, he’s happy most of the time.” Elliot replied.

 _“Sounds about right; Tony was like that as well. But anyways, try to finish up here… She has ADD, social anxiety, breathing problems. Ok. So, we move to age ten: she was diagnosed with basic anxiety and have panic attacks when she’s around too many people. For instance: if she were to go to a mall or step on a train or bus, she would have a meltdown. By the way, she never goes on or in any of those. She will also have a panic attack when she’s feeling overwhelmed. And then finally, last year, she was diagnosed with PTSD, which only got worse after Tony was killed. So, except for you, we’ve all been told that she has a vivid imagination…but I’m not so sure about that; some of the things she says may be true. Then again, I’m not a hundred percent sure. No, I can’t tell you what she talks about; that’s her business. But, she and her two friends were at the park or somewhere, just hanging out, talking, when someone just happened to overhear them and whatever they were talking about. Said person figured out just who they were, started recording them without their permission or knowledge and went to their boss. About a week later, doctors were knocking on Tony and Halley’s door, as well as Venessa’s and Fallon’s. Immediate psychiatric care. They were required to see a therapist once a week until doctors decided they were “fixed.” Otherwise, they would be taken from their homes and placed in a psychiatric ward for who knows how long. Now, these girls all have different personalities and reacted differently. I can’t speak for the other two girls, but Halley locks herself away; she, like I said before, is incredibly shy, sensitive, and quiet. The other two…well, they’re both different; Venessa is very opinionated, calmer with somewhat of an attitude, and protective of Halley. Well, both girls seem protective of Halley. But anyways, Fallon…that girl is very loud, hyper, and not so calm, whatsoever. All three girls and a few others were seeing this Dr. Kern or something like that. That only lasted a few months, before it was found out that he was putting the girls in a sleep-like state and doing as he pleased with them. Mainly just undressing them and touching or masturbating to them. The only reason anyone found out, was because Halley woke up in the middle of their session, to him on top of her; she screamed, causing not only Venessa and Fallon to run in, but also Tony. It came out that he was recording his sessions for personal use as well; they found tapes of all the girls.”_ Tessie explained, sighing; she was frustrated.

“He’s in jail, right?” Wesley asked, shaking with anger...anger that Elliot had never seen from him before.

 _“He was…”_ Tessie started.

“Was?” Wesley asked right away, confused.

_“Unfortunately, Halley, Venessa, and Fallon were the only girls to show up to the hearing to testify; all of the other girls changed their statements and said it never happened…even though they were all asleep or whatever, and all had seen the video footage._

_It was later found that they were paid off. When I say later, I mean two months ago. Because of how the videos were found, they were found inadmissible in court. The girls were all claimed to be unable to testify; so, he got away._ ” Tessie explained with another frustrated sigh.

“What does that mean? 

How were they unable?” Wesley asked, becoming incredibly upset, getting the girls’ attention; they all came running in.

“What’s going on?” Zoey asked right away.

“Is everything ok?” Bridget asked, concerned.

 _“Well, Halley was too unstable, confused and couldn’t stop crying. Venessa was labeled as bipolar with a nasty temper. Fallon was labeled as the hyper child who didn’t know up from down or right from wrong. So, he walked. What’s worse, when your father died, Halley lost it and had a major meltdown…one of her worst panic attacks to date; the next one comes later. She is already a sickly child; she comes down with pneumonia at least twice a year. And because of how weak her lungs already are, it hits hard. But, anyways, after your dad was killed, she, I don’t think knew how to handle it and ended up in a psychiatric ward…and not a good one.”_ Tessie started explained.

“What does that mean?” Wesley asked, incredibly confused, standing up and shaking.

 _“Halley either couldn’t stop crying or having panic attacks; after a while, to help herself remain somewhat calm, she’d talk to herself. That was wrong; so, they would literally take a hose and spray her with cold water at high pressure. When that didn’t work, they started doing half an hour ice baths followed by electric shock therapy…after drying her off. Venessa contacted me and told me what was going on. I wasn’t able to get there for a few months. However, when I did, I found out that Dr. Kern was in charge of all of her treatments and such; he put her on medications she shouldn’t have been on and took her off all the medications she should be on. She’s back on all of her regular medications and off of the new ones. By the time I was able to get there and get her out, it had gotten so bad that Halley stopped responding to anything and everything and stopped eating. Two hours before I got there, she had her worst panic attack to date: she had managed to get a hold of something and sharpened it… Halley ended up slicing up her left wrist so bad, that she barely has any feeling in her left wrist or hand and fingers. I took her to the hospital right away, to which she usually protests; she is not a fan of hospitals and will refuse to go. But I got her there, had her wrist and arm looked at; she lost a lot of blood in the two hours that that place did absolutely nothing. Because of the conditions, her wrist became severely infected, and she became septic. I also had a rape kit done; she was not raped or sexually abused…surprisingly enough. She knows she did it. She knows she cut herself; she has her scars to prove it. However, she says she can’t remember doing it in the first place. I suppose with everything they did to her in there. We spent two months recovering in the hospital before coming here…about a week ago. I did not leave her; I stayed until she got out. Watched all the panic attacks, the night terrors, the refusal to eat or drink anything and the detoxing. I think that was the worst for her; she had the chills, night sweats, the shakes, and a lot of throwing up. She started drinking fluids after two weeks and eating after about a month. When she was finally released, her two friends met us and we all went back to her and your dad’s house, packed up everything she wanted that she was able to pack up and shipped here. She’s been here since we got back.”_ Tessie explained softly. 

“How is she now?” Wesley asked right away.

 _“Umm…better. I mean, she’s not great or all there yet, but she is better. She finally looks healthy enough, and she’s eating and drinking…except for breakfast. For some reason, she has a hard time eating before ten in the morning without getting sick. She’s been keeping herself busy with fixing the basement stairs…”_ Tessie sighed.

“Something wrong?” Wesley asked calmly.

 _“I just wish she’d be a little more careful._ _She finished up the stairs last night; she had spent the three days beforehand, working on the underneath so she could actually work on the steps. However, as much as she tries to hide things, I heard the cracking noises…twice. She fell through two of the steps. I guess that’s where I’m glad she got the bottom done because she didn’t fall all the way through them and hit the ground. She got to some of the last steps, her foot went through, and she fell forward a little; she managed to grab the railing. On her way up, her other foot went through one of the first few steps, and she fell up the steps. Downstairs she got a few scratches; nothing too serious. Upstairs though, she’s pretty short and even with a ladder, could only get so far up and back, so her one leg went through to her knee, and she got a nice splinter of wood in there. She managed to get her leg up, but then her arm went through, and she ended up with a large splinter in her arm. Literally dragged her to the ER, where she received fourteen stitches in her leg and forty-four in her arm. Her doctor tells her to take it easy. Get her home, and she almost immediately goes back to finishing the stairs. I will say, she did an excellent job on them; they’re incredibly sturdy…granted the first two steps are a bit of a hassle; she only made two extra slabs for the steps… So, not all steps are even. But as long as you’re watching your where you're going, you’ll be fine. I can’t really say a whole lot, seeing that everyone in the family is incredibly stubborn; I just wish she’d listen a little more when it comes to that. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great kid and for the most part, listens to what she’s told… No, I didn’t get on her about it; I just told her to be safe. With this, even if I had told her not to, she would’ve anyway. I only have three weeks left with her before being put in a nursing home. Right now, I don’t want to do anything that will push her away. Well, I don’t want to push her away at all. She just lost one of the only people who mattered to her the most. She lost her dad, and she’s just been having a hard time; she’s finally starting to…I don’t know…feel better. So, I’ll just let her do what she wants as long as she’s safe, it’s not severely dangerous, and it’s legal. I know you don’t remember him, and you no longer know him, but Tony was your father as well; once she comes around, Halley will open or warm up to you. I know she knows you had the opportunity to say whether you wanted to get custody of her, but I know she doesn’t know you answered yes because I just found out. Even if you hadn’t said yes, she still wants to meet you; she’s wanted to meet you since your dad told her about you. She’s been very antsy and nervous about that. However, I’m not sure right now is the best time for that; I’ll tell you why: except for your eyes, you look exactly like Tony…exactly like him. I mean, I know and understand that you two have to meet for the obvious reason you’ll soon be living together. She just started feeling better; I don’t want her to spiral downhill again. Give me a few days to explain to her everything that’s going on...to ease her into all of this.”_ Tessie said, pretty much pleading with Wesley.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Would I like to meet my sister as soon as possible? Yes, but I get it; I wouldn’t want her to shut down again either.” Wesley sighed, running his hand through his bangs as he sat back down, all the girls standing there in shock.

 _“Thank you… Oh, there’s one more thing Halley was good at. Although she hasn’t played in years, she’s really good at chess; she used to play with this one little boy. The last time she played him was over the phone; she always beat him…even when she couldn’t see him. What was his name? Hmmm. What was it? Oh, that’s right: Elliot, Elliot Grant. Oh yes, I remember; Tony was working with Mr. Grant on something or other. This was around one of the times that her mother decided she didn’t want Halley; Mrs. Grant would watch her since Tony couldn’t find an actual babysitter.”_ Tessie said, determined, causing Wesley to look directly at Elliot.

“Elliot Grant, you’re sure?” Wesley asked calmly.

 _“Uh-huh, oh yeah. Why?”_ Tessie asked, slightly confused.

“Elliot Grant is the same Elliot I’ve been telling you about.” Wesley said calmly.

 _“Oh, that’s so great! I thought he was dead. Sorry. Tony had told me that there was some kind of explosion and the Grant’s home was engulfed in flames; he had heard that everyone had died.”_ Tessie explained right away.

“That’s kind of what happened, yes, but Elliot and I weren’t even there; we had some errands we were running.” Wesley said calmly.

 _“That’s so great! Not about your parents…I am terribly sorry for your loss by the way. When I say this is great, I mean that it’s great for Halley. She’ll be so happy that he’s alive, but more so that he’s real. I did say that she was completely shut down. At some point down the road, using some kind of therapy technique crap, Dr. Kern managed to get it in her head, that everyone from her past (The Grant’s that is) didn’t exist. Before he died, Tony had started getting through to her, that, you, Elliot, and your parents, did indeed exist. This close. I do not know whether or not she believes that you’re real or a figment of her imagination; she doesn’t bring it up, so I don’t bring it up. I don’t want to upset her. And yes, I know I have to talk to her about all this; and I will. Oh, hold on. Oh, hello girls. What brings you by?”_ Tessie asked calmly.

 _“We’re here to collect Halley!”_ A girl exclaimed loudly.

 _“Fallon, behave. Hi Mrs. Amara, Conrad.”_ Another girl said, sounding slightly annoyed, before pleasantly and then unpleasantly saying.

 _“What have I told you about that Mrs. Amara crap; you can call me grandma. I’ve been telling you that for years now. Don’t mind Conrad; he’s just set in his ways. And, she’s not with you?”_ Tessie asked, confused.

 _“No…”_ Both girls answered at the same time.

 _“Why would she be? It’s only three-thirty on a Friday; we just got out of school.”_ Fallon said simply.

 _“That’s right; I keep forgetting you two aren’t home schooled like Halley is. I haven’t seen her in a little bit now. Three-thirty…”_ Tessie thought out loud before being interrupted.

 _“Well, if the girl had a brain, she’d be able to go to regular school, like most normal teenagers their age. And those two had brains, they’d stop hanging out with that witch and go back to where they came from.”_ Conrad said, rather rudely.

 _“He’s her grandfather. He’s her grandfather. He’s her grandfather.”_ Wesley and gang heard one of the girls repeatedly say through what sounded like gritted teeth.

 _“Why do you have to be such a giant asshole prick?”_ They heard the other girl asked, rather loudly.

 _“Fallon!”_ The other girl, Venessa, exclaimed in shock.

 _“No, it’s fine; she can say as she please. He is being rude; he’s been like this since Halley got here. And Halley…well she just ignores it all.”_ Tessie sighed.

 _“You mean she takes it all…”_ Fallon said, annoyed.

By now, Wesley and gang could distinguish which girl was which.

 _“When she shouldn’t have to! Not with her own damn family! I love Halley; she’s one of my sisters…even if it’s not by blood; she’s too nice to you when she shouldn’t be! All you do is berate her every chance you get! If she were a witch and were after you, as you think, she would’ve done so already! But she’s not a witch; she’s just special. I’d really think twice about you’re about to say. She’s not retarded by any means. Sure, she’s not the brightest bulb in the bunch, and she may get turned around and lost, but she’s not retarded. You say if we had brains bla, bla, bla bullshit! If you had a brain, maybe you’d see what’s in front of you instead of what’s in your mind, in your own little world! If you had a brain, you’d see that being different is unique, not scary, or someone who needs to be outcasted or something. Maybe she can’t see like you or me because something that wasn’t her fault happened to her that she lost her sight! Maybe she’s not as smart as you or I, because once again, due to circumstances that were out of her or her dad’s control! Maybe she can’t run or jump or anything like that like I can, or you used to be able to. Maybe she gets lost or turned around._ _But she doesn’t deserve your bullshit! She doesn’t deserve to be put down by you or any other bullies who beat and put her down before! She deserves to be loved and cared for by the people who are supposed to: me, Fallon, and I know grandma loves her more than anyone…minus her dad when he was alive. She deserves to have a life and to be able to live that life! You are nothing but a pretentious prick who is just pissed off and angry because you can’t do anything you used to do! I don’t know why either Halley or grandma put up with you. Now I get why Tony only ever talked to grandma and not you. You claim you loved your son more than anything or anyone in this world, yet you didn’t show come to his funeral. Why? Just because of Halley? Seriously? You are a selfish, bitter man! Yes, Halley is different and has her issues and can’t do what we can or what you used to do. But you know what she does have that you don’t have…that most people have? She has a big, pure heart and a soul, and she cares about just about everyone…even if they don’t deserve it. She is nothing but pure innocence who’s been given a shit life. So, you know what; call her a witch. Maybe she really is one. Who knows? She could be stuck in a wheelchair or couldn’t talk or whatever, and I’d still want to be friends with her! She could be a freaking vampire, and she’d still be one of my best friends. I don’t care who or what she is; she is and will always be my sister! Her and Fallon…no matter how much she drives me crazy. You, sir, are nothing but a sad, little man who may of at one time, knew love, but you sure as hell don’t know it now._ _If you still knew what love was, you wouldn’t treat your granddaughter the way that you do!”_ Venessa yelled, very passionately.

 _“Wow…”_ Fallon said in disbelief.

 _“I knew I was forgetting something; Halley is legally blind without a special pair of glasses_ …” Tessie said absentmindedly.

 _“You will not speak to me like that in my own house. Get out!”_ Conrad yelled, pissed off.

 _“No; you two, stay. She is absolutely correct; you shouldn’t be talking to our only granddaughter like you do. I’ve stood by your side for too long through this. No, I don’t want a divorce; I want you to sincerely apologize to your granddaughter when you truly mean it. And you will be sleeping in the guest room tonight.”_ Tessie said as calmly as she could.

 _“Are we interrupting a phone call or something?”_ Venessa asked, finally realizing Tessie had the phone, and it was still counting seconds.

 _“Hmm… Oh yeah. Hold on; you can see if she’s in her room or the basement. Sorry Wesley…it’s getting kind of crazy here…”_ Tessie said, finally getting back to Wesley.

“We can tell; and it’s perfectly ok.” Wesley replied calmly.

 _“Wesley? Halley’s older brother?”_ Both Venessa and Fallon asked, sounding extremely interested.

 _“Yes, you’ve heard of him? I didn’t think Tony told anyone except for Halley.”_ Tessie said, kind of shocked.

 _“Halley talked about him a lot; we’ve seen the few pictures she had. Tony knew she told us; she said she got his permission before saying anything. She’s always saying how she wants to meet him; it’s on the top of her list…after finding him of course.”_ Venessa said calmly.

 _“They’ll be living together in a few weeks.”_ Conrad mumbled.

 _“What does that mean?”_ Fallon asked right away.

 _“Oh, well, Wesley’s agreed to take custody of Halley in a few weeks.”_ Venessa answered calmly.

 _“What about you? I mean, that’s great and all, and I really don’t care about Conrad…but what about you? I thought you had custody of Halley. What?”_ Fallon said confused and then asked; Wesley and gang could just hear Venessa sigh in annoyance or frustration.

 _“And Halley’s the one who forgets…or doesn’t pay attention…”_ Venessa muttered.

 _“What does that mean?”_ Fallon asked, somewhat offended.

 _“It means this was explained before the left to come here. Grandma tried to get custody, but she was turned down. She and Conrad are physically unable to take care of Halley for long periods, nor can they keep up with her homeschooling. And, in my personal opinion, I’m fairly sure Conrad has something to do with it as well. No, I can’t prove that, but it’s just how I feel. Grandma said she was going to figure something out, so that she wouldn’t be placed in foster care; I had no clue Wesley would be involved; I just thought she was talking about a different family member. What does Halley have to say about all this?”_ Venessa explained and then asked.

 _“She’s probably super happy! I mean, she’s been talking about this for years; she’s probably super excited!”_ Fallon exclaimed happily.

 _“No, she is super excited to meet him. We’ll start with Wesley. One: he probably has no clue who she is, seeing as he was kidnapped and was living with an entirely different family. Two: he’s at least twenty-two, maybe twenty-three; I know his birthday is in April, but not sure on the day…they both have April birthdays. My point is that even if he wanted to get to know them, playing on the notion that Tony was still alive, he’s twenty-something; he probably lives on his own or with a roommate or a girlfriend or something. Do you think he’d want to give that all up to live with people he doesn’t know? I mean obviously, that’s what he’s doing now with Halley, and that’s awesome. But remember this, Halley just lost her dad; her world has been turned upside down and around. But she’s not the only one. We don’t know how long Wesley’s known; so, his world has probably also been turned upside down and around. Possibly more so than Halley’s. Listen to me very carefully. Yes, Halley lost her dad; Wesley recently found out he was kidnapped, missed out on being part of his biological family, and is an older brother. Now bam! He’s just found all this out, he’s taking custody of someone he doesn’t know, who is eight years younger than him. And on top of that, his biological dad is dead; he’ll never get to meet him, know him. I’m sure once Halley feels better and comfortable, she’ll open up and tell him what she can. So, this isn’t just new for Halley; it’s new for Wesley as well.”_ Venessa explained calmly, but seriously.

 _“Oh… Why do you refer to his parents as biological? They’re his only parents…or were…”_ Fallon said, confused.

 _“That’s not true. Clearly, he’s alive; whoever kidnapped him, didn’t kill him. So, I’m assuming he had a good life; they must’ve treated him well. And, they are who he knew as his parents…unfortunately. But anyways…we’re moving on now. Done discussing this. We don’t need to argue or anything. But seriously, how does Halley feel about this? And what about her cats; what are going to happen to them?”_ Venessa explained and then asked Tessie.

 _“Well…that’s all true, what you just explained; Wesley has had a good life with people who cared. They had since died…quite a while ago. I met Wesley a few months ago; like I told him, I knew pretty much right away. But until I had enough proof, I wasn’t going to say anything because if it weren’t true, and he was just a perfect lookalike, I didn’t want to face that hurt again. But even after I found out, I didn’t tell him. I didn’t want to push or scare him away. I did tell Tony a few months ago, shortly after I found out. But when I told Tony, Halley was too sick to travel, and you all had that shit with that Dr. Kern guy. I told him why I didn’t tell Wesley; he kind of understood. He said it could wait a little while more; it had already been, at the time, a little over eighteen years. Besides, he had Halley; she was his main concern…especially with how sick she had gotten. I don’t think Tony told her anything; she hasn’t once mentioned Wesley…not to me or Conrad anyways. Wesley has also agreed to move in here just before Conrad and I go into the nursing home or assisting living or whatever you want to call it… So, she’ll still be able to keep her cats. Now, with all that said, Wesley said he just found out about EVERYTHING just a few hours ago… As strong as he’s being, I’m sure he’s still pretty shocked and trying to process it all. So, to answer your question on Halley’s take on all of this…she doesn’t know. And you two aren’t going to say anything. Here’s why: asides from his blue eyes, Wesley looked exactly like Tony…pretty much identical.”_ Tessie explained calmly, but seriously.

 _“Ahh…ok.”_ Venessa said, understanding.

 _“I don’t get it…”_ Fallon said, clearly confused.

 _“Wesley looks like their dad…if Halley sees him now…this soon after she got out of the hospital and is just starting to feel somewhat better; she could snap and stop eating or self-harming again. We don’t want that.”_ Venessa said seriously.

 _“But Halley knows what Wesley looks like; she has pictures…”_ Fallon said seriously.

 _“When he was four. Fallon, he’s twenty something now; there is no way in hell that he still looks the same as back then…especially if he looks like Tony now.”_ Venessa said very seriously and annoyed.

 _“Oh, right. Sorry. Now I get it; don’t let Halley know yet. Where is she anyway?”_ Fallon asked after finally getting it.

 _“Well, she’s in one of four places: her room, her basement, the bathroom, or outside in the flower garden… I can’t believe how fast those grew… I’ve been trying to get something to grow back there for years…and nothing. Oh well… Just go check out those places; she’s bound to be in one of them. I’m sorry again Wesley; I’ll be right with you. Oh, and you can feel free to come get the pastries at any time. The sooner the better; I’m sure Venessa and Fallon are going to take her somewhere.”_ Tessie said calmly.

“Ok.” Wesley said simply.

 _“What are those girls doing, just walking around all willy-nilly?”_ Conrad asked, annoyed.

 _“They are looking for Halley.”_ Tessie said, just as annoyed.

 _“Well, she’s not in her room.”_ Venessa sighed, walking back to the living room.

 _“She’s not in any of the bathrooms.”_ Fallon said dully.

 _“Ok… Art area is next. Come on Fallon.”_ Venessa said calmly.

 _“Don’t bother.”_ Conrad said gruffly.

 _“What is that supposed to mean?”_ All three girls asked at the same time.

 _“She’s not down there and she’s not in the garden; she’s not here period.”_ Conrad said seriously.

 _“What is that supposed to mean? What did you do?”_ Tessie asked, demanding an answer.

 _“Relax… I sent her on an errand just before those girls got here. Saves on gas.”_ Conrad said plainly.

 _“What kind of errand? Conrad, where did you send her?”_ Tessie asked, becoming flustered.

 _“It’s such a nice day; I told her to take a stroll through the park and make a delivery for us.”_ Conrad said simply.

 _“What delivery? Conrad, you didn’t…”_ Tessie said, sounding petrified.

 _“Grandma, what’s wrong? Where are you going?”_ Fallon called.

 _“CONRAD!!”_ Tessie yelled, going from petrified to furious in a matter of seconds.

 _“Yes, dear?”_ Conrad asked innocently.

 _“Don’t “yes, dear” me! How in the hell could you do that?!”_ Tessie yelled beyond pissed.

 _“I would really hate to be on her bad side…”_ Venessa said calmly.

 _“Yeah… I wonder what kind of delivery it is…”_ Fallon replied.

 _“Ok… Fifteen minutes… She’s on foot, with a heavy cart that I’m sure she’s not having an easy time with…”_ Tessie mumbled.

 _“What’s going on? How can a delivery be so bad?”_ Fallon asked, confused.

 _“It’s not the delivery that’s bad; it’s the destination. Conrad sent Halley with a cart of cakes and cookies to a place called Café Mew Mew…”_ Tessie mumbled.

 _“And? What’s so bad about that?”_ Fallon asked again, clearly confused.

 _“That’s where Wesley is… Conrad…how could you do that?!”_ Tessie screamed.

 _“I’ll tell you how; he’s an ass; that’s how.”_ Venessa answered.

 _“Hey…I’m just doing them a favor; they have to meet at some point. Now is as good a time as ever.”_ Conrad said calmly.

 _“No, it’s not! She doesn’t know what’s going on! Who knows how she’ll react!”_ Tessie yelled.

 _“You’re on the phone with Wesley now, right?”_ Venessa asked calmly.

 _“Yes.”_ Tessie said as calmly as she could.

 _“Is he the only one there, or are there others?”_ Venessa asked simply.

 _“Yes, there are others.”_ Tessie said, calming down a little.

 _“There you go; she doesn’t have to see Wesley just yet; he can have one of the others grab the delivery for him. And then when she gets back here, you can start to explain to her what’s going on.”_ Venessa said simply.

 _“Yeah.”_ Fallon said simply.

 _“No can do.”_ Conrad said, interjecting himself.

 _“What is that supposed to mean?”_ Venessa asked, annoyed.

 _“She is to deliver the baked good directly to Mr. Coolridge…and only Mr. Coolridge. Under no circumstances, is anyone else to accept the baked goods. No, I didn’t say who she was going to see; if I had, she most likely wouldn’t have gone. Now, if you’ll excuse me_.” Conrad said, sighing as it sounded like he was just standing up.

 _“Where the hell are you going?”_ Tessie asked right away.

 _“I’m going to get my shit; someone will be here in a little bit to take me to the nursing home. I’m not staying with some witch, or woman who is choosing it over her own husband. I’ll be at the home when you come to your senses.”_ Conrad said seriously.

 _“Wesley…”_ Tessie huffed.

“Yes?” Wesley asked as calmly as he could; he could hear the stress and strain in her voice. This was not good and was not going to end well; he couldn’t believe Conrad was doing this.

 _“Ok…where is this Café Mew Mew place?”_ Venessa asked right away.

 _“What?”_ Tessie asked, shocked.

 _“Where is this place? She’s only been gone roughly twenty minutes now, right? Plus, she’s pushing a cart that’s most likely heavier than her? How far away is this place? She probably hasn’t gotten too terribly far; Fallon and I will find and explain things to her…seeing as she has a one-track mind and will finish whatever it is, she’s doing. We’ll get to her and slowly ease her into things. And then after she knows and understand what’s going on, if she doesn’t want to or can’t do this, I will drop the stuff off. We just need to know where we’re going.”_ Venessa said seriously.

 _“You’d do that?”_ Tessie asked, shocked.

 _“Hey, I’m not letting her go down that path again.”_ Venessa said seriously.

 _“Right; she’s our little sister too.”_ Fallon said, agreeing with Venessa.

 _“Ok… hold on………… Ok, this is the address you’re going to, and this is what the building looks like. This is where we are now; here are the directions. Thank you, both of you.”_ Tessie said happily, crying.

 _“It’s really no problem. If we hurry, we can get find her before she gets…here.”_ Venessa said, looking at a makeshift map.

 _“Good luck. When I said I sent her a little before you two got here; I mean I sent her a good ten or fifteen minutes before that.”_ Conrad said simply before walking to a door, opened it, and then slammed it.

 _“We’ll do our best; we can always rollerblade to try to catch up to her.”_ Venessa sighed.

 _“Yeah, she’s not that fast…especially when moving something heavier than herself.”_ Fallon said happily.

 _“Come on…”_ Venessa sighed before the two left.

 _“Wesley…do me a favor…”_ Tessie sighed.

“Yeah?” Wesley asked calmly.

 _“If Halley does show up on her own; if they don’t get there before she reaches you…just go slow. Maybe hide behind something and tell her who you are, before showing your face to her. If the girls do get to her first, they’ll have time to explain things to her and she still decides she’s ready…still go slow.”_ Tessie said, pleading with Wesley.

“That’s fine; I can do that.” Wesley said calmly.

 _“Thank you. I think I’m going to go lie down…”_ Tessie sighed.

“You’re welcome. Ok…well, I guess I’ll talk to you later.” Wesley said seriously.

 _“Yes, we’ll talk later.”_ Tessie said calmly.

“Ok. Bye.” Wesley said calmly.

 _“Bye. Oh, no, wait! I forgot something_.” Tessie exclaimed right away, having a last-minute thought.

“Yes, what is it?” Wesley asked calmly, yet somewhat shocked.

 _“I don’t know if Halley will have shoes on or not; she, for some reason, doesn’t like them. I’m not sure why… She usually always wears socks because she doesn’t like being barefoot. When she does go outside, she will wear those weird shoes that doctors wear in certain areas of a hospital over her socks, so that floors don’t get dirty. I just thought I’d let you know. Also, I don’t remember when she last poked her fingers to test something with her blood. I’m not sure why she tests her blood; I think Tony told me, but I can’t remember. But that’s everything; the rest is up to you. Bye.”_ Tessie said before hanging up.

“Bye…” Wesley sighed, hanging up.

“So, what’s going on?” Zoey, Corina, and Aria asked at the same time while Renee, Bridget, and Kiki looked at the two men.

“Apparently, when I was four, I was kidnapped by the people, who I grew up knowing as my parents…until I was fourteen when they died in some sort of accident. Also, I have a younger sister who is eight years younger than me at fifteen, and her name is Halley-Hope Rose Amara. We have the same father, but different mothers. So, we’re both Italian and German; I’m also English on my mother’s side while she’s also Irish on her mother’s side. I may not know her, but I am going to, I don’t know how to put this, step up or something, and take custody of her so that she doesn’t have to go into the foster system. She, apparently has a lot of health and mental issues, but to that doesn’t matter; she’s my sister and that’s all that matters. She is the sister I obviously didn’t know I had.” Wesley said seriously.

“Where are you going to live? Do you have enough room here?” Aria asked right away.

“Elliot and I are both moving into her--our grandparents’ house after they…well, now just she goes into a nursing home; I guess they left it to me and Halley…” Wesley explained calmly.

“You said she had some mental issues…how do you know this girl isn’t crazy or into drugs or something? Or, what if she’s psycho or something like that?” Corina asked right away.

“I know her grandmother extremely well…well, I guess she’s my grandmother as well. She wouldn’t lead me down a path of deceit.” Wesley said honestly, seriously.

“Plus, I guess I know her.” Elliot said calmly.

“You guess you know her? What does that even mean?” Corina asked right away.

“Tessie, their grandmother knew my family’s name. From what I understand, their father worked with my dad while my mom watched Halley for her dad when he was working.” Elliot explained.

“What about you? What did you do with her?” Renee asked calmly.

“Well…she’s only fifteen, so, she’s four years younger than me. For the most part I was most likely in school. But I do know the name and I know I played “ _Chess_ ” with her. Not to mention, the only people who knew I played “ _Chess_ ” with her over the phone were my parents and her dad. I just can’t remember what she looks like other than she was short and thin.” Elliot explained simply.

“So, since you’ve clearly made a decision; what’s going to happen with the café?” Renee asked calmly.

“Yeah, are we still going to be working here?” Zoey asked calmly.

“Are we still going to be a team?” Bridget and Kiki asked at the same time, worried.

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa! Relax. Ok? Listen to me: you’re all still going to be a team, and you’re all still working here. The café is always going to be the café and base of operations; it’s not going anywhere. Elliot and I aren’t moving hours away; we’re not even moving an hour away. The house we’re moving into is only fifteen or twenty minutes away.” Wesley explained right away, answering all questions.

“But the lady said it’d take her forty-five minutes or so to get here.” Kiki said right away.

“On foot; it’s a fifteen or twenty-minute drive from here to there. Halley is on foot, pushing a cart of pastries; she’s not as strong as any of you, or Elliot, or myself, so it’ll take her longer to get her.” Wesley explained calmly.

“What about us?” Zoey asked right away.

“What about you?” Elliot asked back.

“Obviously not her friends, but what about Halley; will she know about us being mew mews or anything about the mew mew project?” Zoey asked right away.

“That’s right; there is that…” Wesley said, looking at Elliot.

“She’s your family; we can’t exactly keep her in the dark. We’ll just have to figure out how to get her to keep that secret. So really, it’s up to you whether you want her knowing or not.” Elliot said simply.

“I guess…we wait and see what happens.” Wesley sighed.

Knock. Knock. Knock. 

They all stopped talking and looked out towards the main area; someone was knocking on the main door.

“Hello?! Is there anybody here?! Umm…I have a delivery for a Mr. Coolridge; my grandpa sent me!” A young-sounding girl called throughout the main area of the café.

“I don’t think Halley’s friends caught up with her.” Corina said, stating the obvious as they all got up and walked to the door…


	2. Chapter 2

“Is something wrong, Wesley?” Zoey asked, looking at Wesley.

“There is no way that she left when Conrad said; she would’ve had to leave a lot earlier then what he said to get here now. Way earlier. It’s a forty-five-minute walk, and I’ve seen the cart Tessie said she was pushing here; I’ve also seen all the pastries she piles on there. And if what Tessie says about Halley is true, you’d probably have to add an extra fifteen minutes to half an hour.” Wesley said, looking at everyone.

“She is a tiny thing…” Aria said, walking in the room.

“You saw her?” Zoey asked, looking at Aria.

“What were you doing out there?” Elliot asked, slightly annoyed.

“I was just seeing who she was and all that; I didn’t talk to her. She didn’t even seem to notice me; she was just looking at the pictures.” Aria said calmly.

“Pictures? The pictures on the wall by the kitchen door?” Wesley asked, right away.

“Those are the ones. Why do you ask?” Aria asked after answering him.

“Oh no…” Wesley said, smacking his head.

“What is it?” Bridget asked, softly, concerned.

“Those are the staff pictures…” Elliot sighed.

“And? Our pictures have been up there for months.” Corina said simply.

“Yes, but we, because you girls begged us, put our pictures up there as well.” Elliot said, annoyed.

“You have to admit, it does look complete now. You two, as the owner and chef, deserve the recognition as well.” Corina said, proudly.

“That’s not the point; they’re saying she’s going to see that they’re both here. From what I understand, they didn’t want them to meet yet. Just seeing those pictures is probably just the same as meeting them in person.” Zoey said, slightly annoyed.

“Well, sorry we wanted them to have the recognition they so rightly deserve.” Corina said, now offended.

“That’s not what they’re saying…” Bridget started out softly.

“Fine; we’re sorry you found your life hasn’t been exactly what it was supposed to be. We’re sorry you found out you have a younger sister, who you had no clue about, and that you got stuck with her. We’re sorry she’s so broken that meeting her only brother, who she’s apparently been waiting to see for like...ever, is a nutcase or whatever. We’re sorry that now, all of a sudden, she just shows up out of nowhere, out of the blue and needs a place or whatever. How do you know she doesn’t want money or anything like that? How do you even know this girl is really your sister in the first place?” Aria asked, tapping her foot; she was already having a bad day. She was supposed to have a date with Tyson, but his family decided to have family plans at the last minute.

“I know she’s my sister because Child and Social Services came to me, matching my DNA to her father…our father. I don’t know what she wants, but I am her brother, and I will take care of her until she no longer needs me. And maybe not everything, but I will get her whatever she needs. And I don’t believe she’s a nutcase or whatever; she lost her father and is just having a hard time coping.” Wesley said seriously, standing his ground.

“What is that noise?” Zoey asked, hearing some kind of scraping noise before Elliot could say anything.

“It sounds like one of the chairs scraping across the floor.” Renee said, listening.

“What the hell is she doing out there?” Aria asked, going back out to the main area, the others following her.

When they got out there, they saw a young girl with fair skin, a slight flush on her cheeks, and long, straight, flat, reddish-brown hair tied up in pigtails, with two loose buns, with blue ribbons tied in them, climbing up on a chair. 

They could tell she had glasses but couldn’t see what color her eyes were. She was wearing a traditional red and black dress with white lining, black socks, and a dark blue wrist band type of thing on her right wrist; she was also wearing earbuds.

“I don’t think she can hear us.” Kiki said as they watched her; she was kind of dancing; it was more like she was moving her head side to side and would, every now and then, move without lifting her feet.

“What is she doing?” Corina asked, noticing she was messing with their pictures; she was about to go over there and stop her.

“Wait; she’s not taking them down. It actually looks like she’s turning them a little side to side.” Zoey said, watching her.

“She’s straightening them.” Renee said simply.

“But they were straight; now she’s just messing them up.” Aria said, ready to go over there.

“No, I don’t think they were, none of them were the same.” Renee said seriously, getting everyone’s attention.

“Either way; she didn’t have permission to do that.” Aria said, annoyed.

“I don’t think she could help it.” Renee said as they watched.

“What does that mean?” Aria asked, looking at Renee.

“I think she has OCD; it probably bothered her that they were uneven…so much so that she had to fix it. I don’t think she’s the type of person to just go up to someone’s things and mess with their stuff unless it really bothers her.” Renee explained in a bored tone as they watched.

“Good. Maybe she’ll be able to get the group picture in the center straightened out. God only knows, we couldn’t.” Elliot said, folding his arms across his chest.

“You’re really ok with this?” Aria asked, shocked.

“As long as she doesn’t hurt herself and nothing gets broke, I’m all good.” Wesley said simply while Elliot just shrugged.

All of a sudden, they just heard her start softly singing.

" _Turn! Turn! Turn!_ " By: The Byrds. (I do not own the song whatsoever; Not the music, not the words, not anything. I just really like it.)

“I know this song…” Wesley said, standing up straight.

_To everything - turn, turn, turn_

_There is a season - turn, turn, turn_

_And a time to every purpose under heaven_

_A time to be born, a time to die_

_A time to plant, a time to reap_

_A time to kill, a time to heal_

_A time to laugh, a time to weep_

_To everything - turn, turn, turn_

_There is a season - turn, turn, turn_

_And a time to every purpose under heaven_

_A time to build up, a time to break down_

_A time to dance, a time to mourn_

_A time to cast away stones_

_A time to gather stones together_

_To everything - turn, turn, turn_

_There is a season - turn, turn, turn_

_And a time to every purpose under heaven_

_A time of love, a time of hate_

_A time of war, a time of peace_

_A time you may embrace_

_A time to refrain from embracing_

_To everything - turn, turn, turn_

_There is a season - turn, turn, turn_

_And a time to every purpose under heaven_

_A time to gain, a time to lose_

_A time to rend, a time to sew_

_A time for love, a time for hate_

_A time for peace, I swear it's not too late!_

“She has a pretty voice.” Zoey said calmly.

“She just needs to be a little louder.” Renee said seriously.

“She could go places.” Kiki said happily.

“Not according to Tessie; she says she painfully shy." Wesley said, watching Halley.

“I’ve never heard that song before…” Corina said calmly.

“It’s from the 60s. I remember hearing that song a lot…I just don’t remember where…” Wesley said calmly.

“Is she ok? She just stopped.” Zoey said, looking at Halley, who slowly turned away from them, all the way around, and looked at the door; she smiled and turned back to what she was doing.

“That was weird…” Corina and Aria said at the same time.

“Oh, I bet it’s going to get weirder.” Wesley said cryptically.

“What does that mean?” Zoey asked, looking at Wesley.

“You’ll see.” Wesley said simply.

Right after he said that something slammed into the front doors, and Halley took her earbuds out.

After a few seconds, the doors opened and in walked two girls…completely out of breath. 

One was tall with long, wavy, dark brown hair, down, with weirdly shaped buns that looked like flattened beehives on the top sides of her head, gray eyes, and was slightly tanner than Halley with a natural flush. She was wearing a blue and white school sailor uniform with a red tie, a pretty black choker, white socks with black Mary Jane shoes, a weird white hair clip and three sets of earrings: one pair were crosses that hung, a simple pair of black studs above the crosses and a single upper earring.

The other girl was shorter than the one girl but looked taller than Halley; she had shoulder-length caramel blonde hair with curly low-hanging pigtails, caramel brown eyes, and was tan with no flush of any sort. She was wearing a darker blue, white, and gray school uniform with black tights and black Mary Jane shoes, a simple black choker, and a black ribbon on the top of her head.

“Hal-Halley, are you ok?” The girl with brown hair asked, concerned.

“Uh-huh…” Halley replied calmly.

“Have you delivered the treats from your grandparents yet?” The girl with caramel blonde hair asked, not noticing the cart of cakes and cookies.

“Fallon…the cart is right there…” The girl with brown hair, making her Venessa, growled, annoyed.

“Nope, not yet.” Halley answered calmly.

“Oh, I didn’t see that.” Fallon said, causing Venessa to fall over.

“Are you ok?” Fallon asked right away.

“Tell me again, why I love you…” Venessa said, looking up at Fallon.

“Because I’m better than any man you’ve ever been with.” Fallon said with a smile.

“Speaking of men…” Halley started.

“Hmm? What is it?” Venessa and Fallon asked, looking at Halley.

“What are you doing anyways?” Fallon asked, confused.

“The pictures must’ve not been straight…” Venessa sighed.

“I don’t think Jason gets it.” Halley said, slowly moving pictures.

“What do you mean?” Venessa asked, slightly annoyed.

“If you look out the window, you’ll see him out there in a minute or two.” Halley said softly.

“I don’t see him out there…” Fallon said, earning a smack to the back of the head.

“She said give it a minute or two. You really need to listen. Hmmm?” Venessa said, annoyed before noticing Wesley and the others.

“Ummm…Halley…” Venessa started slowly.

“Yes?” Halley asked calmly. 

“I know you’re really busy with what you’re doing and all, but we really need to talk; it’s kind of important.” Venessa explained seriously, only to be shocked when she heard Halley sigh or huff.

“No, this is really, really important.” Fallon said, seriously…or, as seriously as she could.

“About Wesley, and how grandpa tricked me into coming here by saying cakes and such needed to be delivered? I know.” Halley said softly, still fiddling with the pictures, shocking everyone in the room, especially with how calm she seemed.

“Did you know this whole time?” Venessa asked right away.

“No.” Halley answered as she finished with the pictures and slowly stepped off the chair.

“When did you figure it out?” Fallon asked, stepping right in front of her.

“Fallon, stop that!” Venessa exclaimed, smacking Fallon over the head, before pulling her back a little.

“When I got here…when I saw the pictures on the wall; they were uneven. Not by much, but still. I got closer and saw the pictures of Wesley, and Elliot.” Halley said softly.

“Elliot? Grant; that Elliot? The one you played _chess_ with?” Fallon asked, causing Venessa to smack her head.

“How many Elliot’s do you think she knows? Or, how many Elliot’s has she ever mentioned?” Venessa asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

“I was just asking; no need to bite my head off…” Fallon said, fake offended.

“Yes.” Halley answered calmly.

“Oh, hunny; are you ok?” Venessa asked, concerned, looking at Halley while gently holding her shoulders.

“I’m ok.” Halley said calmly.

“You don’t seem too surprised or anything about any of this… Did you see this in one of your dreams or something?” Fallon asked suspiciously.

“Dad--he told me--before he died that we were going to come here and meet him…together. He said he was so excited; that’s something he’s wanted for a long time.” Halley said softly, looking down while rubbing her upper arm.

“Are you ok with this? The cart’s right there; I can give it to Wesley, and you can go home and relax.” Venessa offered calmly.

“No, I’m ok. This is what he wanted; I can do something he wanted to honor him and his memory at least… Anyways, I’m already here; might as well do it now.” Halley said, standing up straight, taking a deep breath.

“Well, we’ll be here for you.” Venessa said sincerely, with a calm smile, causing Halley to smile before looking pale.

“What’s wrong?” Venessa asked right away.

“Jason’s here.” Halley said softly, looking out the window.

“What? Damnit… How does he always find me? No matter where I go…” Venessa growled when she looked out the window.

“Are you wearing your favorite belt? You’re not wearing your bracelet?” Halley asked, shocked.

“I have my belt on underneath my shirt. And no, some dumbass at school broke my bracelet. Which reminds me, can you fix it…again?” Venessa asked, pulling her bracelet out of a pocket.

“Can I borrow your belt?” Halley asked softly.

“Ok… Why? What are you planning?” Venessa asked, narrowing her eyes at Halley as she handed her the belt.

“Nothing bad. You asked how he always finds you…” Halley asked, running her fingers over the backside of the belt and the bracelet.

“Yeah…it’s kind of annoyed.” Venessa and Fallon said at the same time, annoyed.

“Well, you did date him, and he was possessive…and mean. And now, he’s a stalker, always following you everywhere. What is one way someone, desperate enough, can locate anyone…especially someone who knows he has fifty/fifty chance of you wearing your favorite belt. Or, the fact that you always have your bracelet on you? There it is…” Halley said as she stopped moving her fingers.

“I don’t know. Whoa! Halley! What is that?!” Venessa asked, panicked.

“It’s a pocketknife; I always keep it on me. No, I’m not going to cut myself; I’m fine.” Halley said seriously, flipping the knife open before sticking it in the belt.

“What are you doing?” Venessa asked in pure shock.

“I didn’t think she was allowed to have a knife.” Fallon said, looking at Venessa.

“Grandma said, as long as I promised not to cut myself, I could keep it. Ah! Here we go.” Halley explained and then said, pulling some kind of electronic chip out; she made a painful noise when she accidentally pricked her finger.

“What is that?” Venessa asked, looking at the chip in Halley’s hand.

“A tracking chip; there’s one in your bracelet as well.” Halley said, digging the knife into the bracelet's open part; she then pulled that one out.

“I knew it!” Fallon exclaimed, pissed off.

“I just figured it out when I saw him coming this time; he kept looking at a little computer thing; it had two beeping red dots.” Halley answered as she found her bag next to the cart; she pulled out a meter and got that ready.

“What is she doing?” Fallon asked, pacing back and forth; she was in a foul mood.

“She’s checking her blood…the sugar and the iron; she’s making sure they’re not mixing too much.” Venessa said as calmly as she could; she knew Fallon gets a one-track mind when she’s angry.

“Nessie?” Halley asked softly as she used the finger, she pricked on accident to drop some blood on a test strip.

“Yeah?” Venessa asked, looking at Halley.

“I know something that might make you feel better.” Halley said softly.

“Ok.” Venessa said, looking at Halley, interested.

“You need to stand in front of the doors. No…back a little more. Right there. Spread your legs a little… Stop. Turn your right foot in…like this. Now, lift it up like you’re going to kick a very high up and fast soccer ball. Now, crouch down a little and hold it for a few seconds. Fallon, you need to open one of the doors. We need to open them at the exact same time.” Halley instructed as she went to one of the doors.

“What are we waiting for?” Fallon asked as she watched Venessa hold in a ridiculous position.

“Ok, open them.” Halley instructed just before they opened the doors.

“Wait… Wait…” Halley said calmly.

“Halley?” Fallon asked, confused.

“Wait… Now.” Halley said simply, and Venessa immediately jumped up and kicked some kind of ball at a downward angle. The ball that came flying at her hit the ground just outside the door...hard; it then bounced even harder and hit some guy with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes in the crotch…hard. He went down…hard.

“What was that?” Fallon asked as she quickly walked in front of the door and looked out the front door.

“Oh, I wouldn’t--” Halley started, but it was too late; Venessa placed her foot back on the ground and fell over.

“Ow…” Venessa moaned, holding her foot.

“Are you ok?” Halley asked right away while Fallon sat there laughing her ass off.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine…” Venessa said simply.

“I tried to warn you…” Halley started.

“Halley, I’m fine. In fact, I feel great. But, what did you mean by Jason was mean?” Venessa asked, looking directly at her.

“Well, he hit you and such…” Halley said seriously

“How? Fallon…” Venessa growled, standing up, ignoring her throbbing foot.

“What’d I do?” Fallon asked, looking at Venessa.

“You told Halley about Jason?” Venessa asked, pissed off.

“No.” Fallon started.

“Fallon…” Venessa started, growling, pissed off.

“She didn’t tell me; I told her.” Halley said right away, getting Venessa’s attention.

“How?” Venessa asked, shocked.

“You had bruises, cuts, and bumps everywhere…a good chunk of the time.” Halley said calmly.

“I told you…” Venessa started but stopped when she saw the look on Halley’s face.

“But you’re not me.” Halley said softly.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Venessa asked, annoyed.

“You don’t fall down stairs or walk into doors like I do…or, not as much as you were saying. I’m not stupid; I do know what abuse looks like. I watch enough crime shows. You even taught me things when your friend from school was being abused before she died. 

I don’t need to have abilities to know the signs…” Halley said seriously; Venessa just stood there, shocked.

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew?” Venessa asked right away.

“It wasn’t any of my business; I knew you’d tell me eventually…when you were ready. I figured I’d just wait.” Halley said simply; Venessa stood there, trying not to cry; she hated showing her emotions.

“Do you feel a little better now?” Halley asked with a smile.

“Yeah. Granted, the bastard deserves so much more…” Venessa mumbled.

“Mmmhmm. But not my cats.” Halley said seriously.

Venessa was going to say something when Jason started running his mouth.

“Damnit… You have that damn physic with you…” They heard Jason groan.

“Shut up!” Fallon yelled, slamming the doors in his face.

“That’s only going to piss him off even more…” Venessa sighed, running her hand through her hair before looking at Halley.

“And what are you talking about? Jason hates cats; he prefers dogs.” Venessa said, looking at a very confused Halley.

“He keeps asking…well texting me to have my cats. Well, just one of them. But I don’t know who he means… He just keeps asking for my pretty little pussy. But either way, he can’t have any of them; they’re not for sale. What? Nessie, are you ok? Fallon?” Halley explained, causing Wesley and the others to fall over while Venessa and Fallon stood there, frozen in shock. However, that shock soon turned to anger for Venessa.

“I’mma gonna kill him. I really am.” Venessa said as she walked to the doors when Halley got a text.

“Hmmm? Wahhh!” Halley asked, opening a text, only to scream at the contents.

“Halley? What’s wrong?” Venessa asked, freaked out, running to her right away; Halley showed her the text.

_~So, you don’t want to give me any pussy?_

_How about I give you a giant cock instead?~_

Jason sent her a text and then a picture of his aforementioned cock, freaking Halley out.

“Hmm? I’ve seen bigger…” Fallon said, looking at the text, giving Venessa an idea; she forwarded the text and picture to her phone.

“Umm… Ok.” Venessa said, walking over to the pictures, where she tilted them so that they were uneven.

“What are you doing?” Fallon asked, confused.

“Shh! Halley, I think the wind, or something messed up those pictures you fixed. Maybe you should fix them?” Venessa suggested, turning Halley around to see the pictures.

Currently, because of Jason's tiny dick pic, Halley was having a mild panic attack; she didn’t know much about sex, but she has seen a penis before… 

However, after looking at the pictures for just a few seconds, she walked back over to them and started over.

“Ok, now I’mma kill him.” Venessa said as she started walking to the door until it slammed open.

“Now, now Venus, that wasn’t very nice of you.” Jason said, waddling in.

“What’s wrong with you?” Venessa asked, looking at him.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me? Hmmm…let’s see; you kicked a ball into my precious cock!” Jason yelled furiously.

“I don’t know what you’re complaining about; it’s not as great, or as big as you claim it is.” Fallon said, leaning against the door.

“You’re here too…of course, you are; you three are always to-fucking-gether! But anyways, mind your own damn business, you damn carpet muncher! Hey, Hales… Hey, don’t ignore me!” Jason complained and then said to Halley, who couldn’t hear him; she had her earbuds in again.

“Hey! Look at me, dumbass! She can’t hear you; she has her music in. And even if she didn’t; don’t fucking talk to her!” Venessa snapped.

“Oh boy…” Fallon said, backing up a little; when Venessa snaps, she becomes scary.

“What are you going to do about it?” Jason asked, shrinking a little.

“If I was you, I’d really start running. Oh, you think me? Oh, no. No, no. I’d be running from the cops, who will be here soon.” Venessa said, eerily calm.

“You didn’t call the cops.” Jason said, standing back up.

“Oh, you’re right about that; I texted them. I can show you if you’d like.” Venessa said, holding up her phone, showing a text to the police.

“What cause?” Jason asked, pissed off.

“Did you know that distributing porn to minors is illegal?” Venessa asked, narrowing her eyes at Jason.

“I didn’t send any type of porn to no minor!” Jason yelled, pissed off.

“You sent a picture of your…tiny little friend to Halley.” Venessa said calmly.

“Yeah, and? What of it? She’s seventeen.” Jason said, as a matter of fact, causing Venessa and Fallon to burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Jason asked, looking at Venessa and Fallon.

“Halley’s not seventeen, not even close.” Venessa said, laughing.

“What are you talking about? She’s like your best friend, isn’t she; you three are always together.” Jason said, looking at the two.

“Yes, we spend whatever time we can together outside of school and such.” Venessa started.

“You go to school together…” Jason started, annoyed.

“Back in Italy, Fallon and I went to the same school, but not the same classes; we’re in different grades. And now that we live here, we go to two different schools completely. Halley is homeschooled. We didn’t meet at school; we met at a park when some kids were picking on her…ten years ago. She was five when we met her; Fallon was six, and I was seven. So, you do the math. You can’t figure it out? Well, let me help you; I’m seventeen, Fallon is sixteen and Halley, well she’s fifteen. And, as you know, fifteen is still underaged.” Venessa explained, annoyed.

“Dumbass… Just because we hang out together all the time, we have to be the same age? How can you be so stupid as to just assume that? I mean, you should know better; you’ve fucked plenty of girls younger than you. I mean, you were twenty-two when Venessa was only fourteen when you two met and started dating.” Fallon said, folding her arms across her chest.

“Also, Jason, all of my friends, plus several other girls I know, who you have an interest in, _are_ all over fifteen…and are legal age. Your tiny little dick will be sent to everyone I know...who is of legal age. Attached with the message of “Forward to everyone you know who is of age to see what they’d be dealing with if they decide to get with you.” I’ll make sure of it.” Venessa threatened dangerously.

“Who does she have to send it to? The little delusional freak doesn’t have any friends expect for you two freaks…” Jason said, striking nerves with not only Venessa and Fallon but also Wesley, Elliot, and the girls.

“Precisely; she has me and Venessa to send the picture to.” Fallon said calmly with a smile.

“I swear to whoever; if she does that, I will fucking end her! I will fucking kill her!” Jason yelled beyond furious.

“Watch it! Let me say this; she doesn’t know how to do any of that. She doesn’t know how to send pictures to other people. Not that that really matters; she does only have us, and her dad had all the pictures he needed in his phone. However, she did send him pictures when we went to places without him; it was to give him peace of mind. Now, you ask: how could she have sent pictures to her dad, if she doesn’t know how? The answer is: both Fallon and I know how to; Fallon or I would send the pictures from her or our phones. So, let me make one perfectly clear; you’re an idiot. Do you really think you could send her a picture like that, and it wouldn’t get back to one of us? Sex, or anything to do with sex, freaks her out. Or, she doesn’t understand it. Like when you asked for her pussy; she thinks you want one of her cats. She grew up learning pussy as another name for a cat, cock as another name for a chicken and so on and so forth. Her dad only started slowly teaching her that kind of stuff…what was it?” Venessa started explaining, before looking at Fallon.

“A year and a half ago.” Fallon said calmly.

“She only started learning a year and a half ago…after some incident forced him to. So, for you to say shit, and send shit like that to her, there will be consequences. So, just to let you know; I already sent that picture from her phone to mine. And _I_ **_will_** be sending it to several people I know who are of age; oh, and so will Fallon. Because I already sent to her as well. Look at me like that all you want; you don’t intimidate me…not anymore. I actually have to thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never started all those self-defense classes, or karate, or Taekwondo, or Tai Chi…all of which I have black belts in. Oh, and one more thing; don’t you ever threaten Halley like that again.” Venessa growled, causing Jason to back up a little.

“Oh, and what are you going to do about it?” Jason asked, daring her.

“Oh, there’s a lot I could do to you…a lot. But, here’s the thing; I don’t have to. Have you ever had to deal with an angry older brother before? Or, really good friends who happen to be guys? Don’t lie; I know you have; I’ve met a few of them before when I was in denial.” Venessa explained.

“What does that have to do with any of this?” Jason asked, becoming bold.

“He may not look it; but I bet with the right situation, Halley’s brother could beat you down.” Venessa said calmly.

“They do look pretty pissed right now.” Fallon said, glancing at Wesley and Elliot.

“Are you high? Hales doesn’t have a brother; I’ve been with you long enough to know your friends and their families. Hales grew up with a single father and that’s it.” Jason said, confident in himself.

“Stop calling her that; she hates being called that. And yes, she did grow up with a single dad, had an absent bitch for a mother and without an older brother. However, that doesn’t make it true; she does have an older brother; he was kidnapped when he was four…about eighteen or nineteen years ago. Also, he is eight years older than her; he is also taking custody of her. I’m sure he’ll keep her safe.” Venessa explained seriously.

“Ha! Did she just figure out about this brother of hers? I know Hales, well enough to know how she is with men; she don’t trust them, right?” Jason asked, looking at Venessa.

“Yes, that’s very true; she doesn’t trust men, considering she’s been hurt by enough of them. However, she trusts a few guys, such as her dad; he has never hurt or lied to her. So, to answer your question, yes, she knows of her older brother, Wesley; he’s the one who didn’t know about her until recently. She also had a friend before Fallon and me; his name is Elliot, and she trusts him. And before you even think about opening that damn mouth of yours; yes, Wesley has agreed to take her in on his own volition.” Venessa said, dead seriously.

They were interrupted by Halley making a noise.

“What the hell was that?” Jason asked, annoyed, looking at Halley.

“Not good… Something’s about to happen. Something not good.” Venessa and Fallon said at the same time.

“You people are crazy; I’m out of here! Fuck you all!” Jason yelled, taking off.

“Fuck you too!” Fallon yelled back.

“Fallon, not now. Halley? Halley! Crap, that's right; she’s still got her earbuds in…” Venessa said, looking around; she grabbed a chair and carried it over to Halley, and got up on it.

“Halley.” Venessa said, slowly removing Halley’s earbuds.

“Hmm?” Halley asked, confused.

“What’s wrong? You made that noise when something bad is going to happen. What’s going to happen? What did you see?” Venessa asked, concerned.

“Mmm…it’s all for nothing…” Halley said, looking at the pictures.

“What’s all for nothing?” Venessa asked, confused.

“Fixing the pictures; they’re just going to get ruined again…” Halley said softly.

“Ok… They’re all straight now, yes?” Venessa asked, looking at Halley.

“Yeah…” Halley replied.

“Ok then… Do you still want to meet Wesley and see Elliot again? I think they’re waiting as well.” Venessa said calmly; she had no clue what was going to happen, other than something was going to happen to the pictures.

“*Sigh…* Uh-huh… Ok.” Halley said softly after deeply sighing.

“Ok, let’s get down.” Venessa said, a little stressed out as she stepped down.

As soon as she was firmly on the ground, the front doors slammed open to reveal a furious Jason, holding some kind of remote or something.

Halley was about to kneel so she could get down as well, but she froze instead.

“You have got to be kidding me… Halley, you need to get down…now.” Venessa said urgently, yet as calmly as she could.

“She’s going to fall backwards…” Elliot said, watching Halley’s footing. And then it happened... Jason pressed a button on the remote; a large, somewhat heavy ball came shooting from a cannon, several feet away from the café. It hit the wall with all the pictures.

The girls and Fallon ducked down where they were while Venessa and Elliot were knocked to the floor, and Halley started falling backward, but the force of the ball hitting the wall sent her flying.

Elliot was too close; she went past him, and flew into Wesley, sending them flying backward, into the stairs, due to the force.

Because of Venessa’s earlier text, police showed up just after the ball hit the wall.

The cart of pastries was pushed back a little when the ball went by it. Some of the cakes and cookies ended up on the floor, but for the most part, it survived.

“Let me go, you damn pigs! My uncle will have your badges for this! This is harassment!” Jason yelled furiously.

“Oh yeah? Well, we have a warrant for your phone…” An officer started, only to be interrupted by someone walking up.

“On what grounds?” A man asked seriously.

“May I help you?” The officer asked, looking at the man.

“Yes, you have my nephew. I’d like to know on what grounds you have for a warrant to search his phone.” The man said calmly.

“On the grounds that he sent a picture of his privates to a minor. Oh, and he just shot a cannon off, shooting something into this establishment, destroying property and possibly injuring people, as that was his intent. And yes, we have video proof.” The officer said as another officer took Jason’s phone.

“It is illegal to film people without their knowledge or permission.” The man said sternly.

“Not when it’s out in the public, or in a public place; it is only illegal if it’s done in somebody’s home without someone’s knowledge or permission.” The officer said calmly.

“You should talk. I knew I heard a familiar voice. Dr. Kern.” Venessa said with malice in her voice.

“Ma’am, are you ok? How do you feel? Do you know these men?” The officer asked, looking at her.

“I’m fine; I ducked in cover. Yes, I know both of these men. Jason is my ex-boyfriend; I’m the one who sent you that text; he sent it to one of my best friends, who is only fifteen. If you want or need, I will gladly give you my phone. And I’m sure I can get Halley to let her see hers as well. And that psycho had someone do the same thing to us; my two friends and I were filmed without our knowledge or permission while we were having a private conversation in the park. We did learn that that was legal as well…but still, he threatened our families into getting us into his “care.” He’d put us in sleep-like-trances and masturbate and touch us. Unfortunately, he paid off all the other victims; I know because he tried paying Fallon and me off as well. So, unfortunately, he got away because my friends and I are considered mentally unstable. Oh, and by the way, it’s been proven that we aren’t unstable. Well, Halley has her issues; that’s because of you torturing her after her dad died. So yes, I know that man; he needs to be in jail or prison. I would love to say he deserves the death penalty, or death in some way or another, but that’s too easy, too good for him; he deserves to rot in a hole.” Venessa said seething; there was something in her eyes that the police trusted.

“Officer, she’s one of my past patients; she suffers from anger and bipolar disorder.” Dr. Kern said calmly; there was something about this man the officer didn’t trust.

“Venessa, are you alright? I can’t find Halley and… What the hell is his ass doing here?” Fallon asked, glaring at Dr. Kern.

“Well, you don’t seem too popular with people.” An officer said, looking at Dr. Kern.

“These girls are deeply disturbed: Venessa has bipolar and anger issues, and she can’t control any of it. Fallon has Advanced, Severe ADHD, and can’t hold still for more than a few minutes at a time, nor can she take anything seriously. Hey, where are you taking my nephew?” Dr. Kern asked after explaining.

“Well, Dr. Kern, was it? Ms. Venessa does seem angry; however, it only appears to be towards you…as does Ms. Fallon. Also, Ms. Fallon seems very calm, and is showing no signs of ADHD whatsoever. She also seems very serious and concerned about her friends.” An officer said calmly.

“Oh, what would you know?” Dr. Kern asked, like the dumbass he is.

“Dr. Kern, you need to relax, or I will have you taken in as well. I was wondering why you looked so familiar; I saw your case on the news. I have to say, I am on the girls’ side. However, I was not in Italy, and it was dropped, so there is nothing I can do. And to answer your question, I have seven kids; three of them have ADHD, two of them have ADD and my youngest two both have autism. I do my research and such. And no, they don’t see anyone for it; they don’t need it. If I thought they needed it, I’d take them to see one. But for now, I need to get in there to see if there are survivors, or anyone who is injured. Do either of you girls know how many other people were in there?” The officer asked, giving other officers a single to keep an eye on Dr. Kern.

“Umm. I know there were a few…” Fallon said, trying to think; she was a little flustered.

“Halley Amara, her older brother Wesley, an older friend of hers, Elliot Grant, and I seen at least four other girls, but I might’ve heard five or six different female voices.” Venessa explained calmly; she was very lucid.

“Thank you for your help; please stay out here. Men, at least nine or more people to search for! Let’s head in!” The officers yelled to his men and a few EMTs, who had just shown up a minute or two ago.

When the police got inside, they noticed that there wasn't too much damage. The ball went through the wall with all the pictures, into the kitchen, and ended up stuck in a wall above the kitchen sink, leaving a nice dent.

There were remnants of the wall all over the floors and counter and in the sink.

The lights had gone out, but that could be because of a bunch of different things.

“Mmmm…” They heard a girl moan.

“Hey, sir, are you ok?” The officer asked when Elliot stood up.

“Yeah, I’m fine; I dropped on my own when Halley went flying past me.” Elliot replied honestly.

“Ok, so Venessa and Fallon are outside. Halley is somewhere in here. You are?” The officer asked, looking at Elliot.

“My name is Elliot Grant; I own this café, with my best friend, Wesley Coolridge.” Elliot said calmly.

“Wesley’s here as well? I was also told that there are few girls in here as well. Can you tell me how many?” The officer asked, looking at Elliot.

“Well, you know about Halley Amara, Wesley Coolridge, and me. Along with us, there are six other girls, but as far as I know they’re fine; they weren’t anywhere near where the ball was shot. But there’s Zoey Hanson, Corina Bucksworth, Bridget Verdant, Kiki Benjamin, Renee Roberts, yes, _the_ Renee Roberts, and Aria Russo. Those are the only people inside the café…along with Halley’s two friends, Venessa and Fallon. Well, and the man who shot the ball.” Elliot said calmly.

“You don’t know the girls?” The officer asked, looking at Elliot.

“Wesley just found out some personal family stuff; it’s not my place to say. I knew Halley when we were younger, but no, I don’t know Venessa or Fallon; they came with Halley to drop some things off. 

Well, actually, they only showed up shortly after she did.” Elliot explained.

“Ok; thank you. I know you said you’re ok, but please go check out with an EMT.” The officer said calmly.

“Yeah, ok.” Elliot said, walking outside, to an EMT.

“Are you all ok?” The officer asked, looking at the girls.

“Yeah, we’re fine, just a little shaken is all.” All the girls said they walked over.

“Can I please have your names? First names are just fine.” The officer said calmly.

“Zoey.”

“Corina.”

“Bridget.”

“Kiki.”

“Renee.”

“Aria.”

“Do either of you know who or where Wesley Coolridge or Halley Amara are?” The officer asked calmly.

“Yeah, we know Wesley, but we don’t know his sister.” Corina said simply, confusing the officer.

“Wesley just found out he was kidnapped when he was younger, and that he had a sister, who is eight years younger; he just claimed custody of her.” Aria said, annoyed.

“You don’t agree with that decision?” The officer asked, looking at the girls.

“No; he just found out about her and she has mental problems. Would you give up your life for someone you just met?” Aria asked seriously.

“It’s not your decision; it’s Wesley’s. It’s his life to live.” Zoey shot at Aria, annoyed, looking a different way.

“For a smart guy, he sure is dumb. May I leave now?” Aria asked, looking at the officer.

“Check in with an EMT first, please.” The officer said simply.

“Wesley? Wesley, are you ok?” Zoey asked, noticing that he was lying on the steps; she went running to him with the others.

“Are you girls ok?” Wesley asked, sitting up, holding his head.

“Yeah, we’re fine. What about you?” Zoey and Bridget asked, looking at him with the others.

“Where’s your sister?” Corina asked, looking around.

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember is, her flying through the air and then smacking into me, and finally being knocked into the stairs.” Wesley said, thinking as he looked around before he stood up.

Just as he got to the bottom of the stairs, they heard someone throw up.

“Are you Halley Amara?” The officer asked, peering around the stairs, shocking her; she nearly fell backward.

“Sorry; I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Officer Hawk; we’re just here, making sure everyone is ok.” Officer Hawk said calmly.

“Yes, I’m Halley.” Halley answered softly.

“How are you feeling? I heard you got tossed through the air.” Officer Hawk said as she walked out from behind the stairs.

“I’m ok. Yeah, I was standing on a chair, fixing pictures on that wall when something hit the wall, send everything flying all over the place. No, not people, just me; everyone else dropped to the floor.” Halley explained softly.

“What about your brother, Wesley?” Officer Hawk asked as Elliot walked back in; he had a clean bill of health.

“Wesley? I don’t know…I didn’t see him; I only saw the picture…I’ve only ever seen pictures.” Halley said softly.

“So, you don’t know him?” Officer Hawk asked right away.

“Not personally; I know what my da--… Sorry. I know what my dad use to tell me.” Halley said, wiping some stray tears away.

“Recently?” Officer Hawk asked, looking at Halley.

“Huh?” Halley asked, confused.

“You recently lost your dad?” Officer Hawk asked, looking at Halley.

“Yes. Umm six months, two weeks, four days, twenty hours, twenty-seven minutes and seventeen seconds ago.” Halley answered, staring off into space, wiping more tears away.

“What about your mother?” Officer Hawk asked, looking at her.

“We don’t speak. She tries calling, but I ignore her, or hang up. She tried to kill me a few times; she usually wants money or me to do something for her to make her money.” Halley said distantly.

“So, you live with your brother now; how is that going?” Officer Hawk asked, looking at her.

“I live with grandma and grandpa…for the next three weeks; I haven’t met Wesley yet.” Halley answered, looking at Officer Hawk.

“So, you will be living with him in three weeks then?” Officer Hawk asked, looking at her.

“If he says yes. If he says no, that’s fine; I’ll understand. He’s lived…a different life for a long time now; I wouldn’t want to give everything up, if I were him. I can’t speak for him, but it’d be a huge shock; I’d probably need time to think about it…but I would, if I were in his position. But that might just be because of how I was raised; I don’t know how he was raised. But even if he does say no, I’d at least like to meet him…at least once.” Halley said softly, becoming upset.

“So, you don’t know then?” Officer Hawk asked, looking at her.

“Know what?” Halley asked, confused.

“Sorry, I forgot my things.” Aria said, walking in and straight to the changing room.

When she came back out a few seconds later, she walked right up to Halley.

“I don’t know what you want from him, but Wesley’s a good guy, who doesn’t deserve to be used.” Aria said, looking directly at Halley.

“Aria, that’s enough.” Elliot said right away.

“No, it’s not! Wesley is a really good friend and is great! I don’t know what he has for money, but I don’t care; he’s my friend. 

Whatever you want from him, just forget about it!” Aria yelled, really confusing Halley.

“I don’t want anything, but to meet him. I don’t need money, nor do I care if he has any; money’s paper and doesn’t mean anything to me. If Wesley doesn’t want anything to do with me, that’s fine as well; I just want to meet him…at least once.” Halley said, kind of repeating what she said before.

“Uh-huh…so, him legally adopting you, or taking custody of you wasn’t your plan from the beginning? You’re not trying to just make him feel guilty?” Aria asked, pissed off; she was going to get to the truth…even though she already was.

“What?” Halley asked, very confused now.

“Like you didn’t know…” Aria said in disbelief.

“I knew he had a choice… I know daddy put him in his will or whatever…but… No, I didn’t know. What would Wesley have to feel guilty about? None of this is his fault.” Halley explained, once again, near tears.

“Uh-huh…a likely story…” Aria started.

“Aria, enough! I just found out today; I just signed the papers today! There is no possible way for her to know because not even her grandma knew. If all you’re going to do is tear her down, you need to leave…NOW!” Wesley exclaimed, beyond pissed off now, surprising everyone who knew him; he never yelled like that.

“Fine…but you’re making a huge mistake.” Aria said, walking away again.

“Ok… Well, that was intense… Anyway, I just have a few more questions for you before I have you checked out by an EMT. 

I’ve heard from a few different people, you’re mentally unstable. Now, with what I’ve just learned, I understand why…but I still have to ask…” Officer Hawk started explaining.

“Mom drank, smoked, and did drugs while pregnant with me, so I was born over a month early, and have breathing problems because of that. I have ADD, Symmetry Obsessions OCD, meaning everything has to be a certain way. I also have Basic Anxiety, Severe Social Anxiety, and PTSD. Sometimes I have different variations of panic attacks, ranging from mild to severe. Sometimes, I blackout and forget where I am, what day it is, or what I was doing. For some reason, the iron in my blood and my blood sugar mix together too much, making me incredibly dizzy and sick. I’ve hit my head a few times, typically by falling. I’ve been told by dozens, upon dozens of people that I’m scatterbrained, clumsy, and very accident-prone, which is all true. I forget things often and tend to get lost...even if I don't blackout. I also talk and walk in my sleep. I don’t remember what happened, but when I was seven, there was some kind of bright light, and I pretty much lost all my sight; I am legally blind without my glasses. They’re specially made, and I have several pairs; I see an eye doctor once a year; grandma took me the other day to figure out that everything is still the same. The only things I can see without my glasses are shapes, blurs, and everything is black and white. I don’t like to wear shoes, as they hurt my feet; I only wear them when I absolutely have to. I always wear socks because I don’t like to be barefooted. I’m allergic to…a lot of different things, but unless you’re a trusted family or a clinic doctor, I will not tell you. I don’t do ERs; I don’t trust them. I will NOT go to an ER. Grandma already dragged me to one yesterday; that was good enough. Plus, the one back home before coming here because I apparently cut my wrist. No, I don’t remember doing it, but I know I did because I have the scar. Then when I was four, I died for four minutes and forty-four seconds; I fell through some ice because the babysitter person wasn’t watching me; she fell asleep. It only took me four minutes and twenty-four seconds to get out onto the ice; someone watched me go and gave the police a statement. Then I was under the ice, in the freezing water for forty-four seconds…enough time to swallow enough ice water. Technically, I was told I died twice; the first time was for an undetermined amount of time. The second time was on the way to the hospital in the ambulance. The ride to the hospital was fifty-four minutes from the house I was at. I legally died four minutes away from the hospital and was revived forty-four seconds after I got to the hospital. Because I was dead for that amount of time, my brain didn’t get enough oxygen, so, there’s some brain damage, or something from that that makes me slower. For the longest time, when I would walk, I used to violently shake pretty much all the time. However, that’s gotten better; it’s at half the time of what it was before, and it's not as violent...so I've been told.” Halley explained, shocking everyone in the room.

“Well…ok then. Umm, I just have one more question and then you can talk to an EMT.” Officer Hawk said, just staring at her in shock.

“Uh-huh?” Halley asked softly.

“I just need to confirm that you know someone." Officer Hawk said calmly, looking at her.

"Ok." Halley replied softly. 

"Do you know a…” Officer Hawk started, only to be interrupted.

“What happened in here?” Dr. Kern asked, walking in, even though he was told not to.

“That’s the guy Venessa and Fallon were just giving the dirtiest looks at.” Elliot said, looking at Dr. Kern as he walked in.

Just seeing Halley and her reaction, Officer Hawk had his answer; all the color drained from her face, and she began to shake violently. After a few seconds, she once again threw up.

“Is everything ok? Oh, Halley; it’s so good to see you again. I’ve missed you. How could you just leave me like that? Oh well, you’ll be back, safe in our facility.” Mr. Kern said with a smile as Halley backed away, hitting the steps, falling in the process before having a panic attack.

“Ok Mr. Kern, it’s really time for you to leave. Hmm? Oh, really?” Officer Hawk asked after another officer whispered in his ear.

“I can’t leave, not without my patient. I understand she’s living with her grandparents right now; I figured it’d just be easier for her to come with me now, seeing as she has nowhere to go anymore.” Dr. Kern said calmly, with an eerie smile.

“Crestnut Institution for Troubled Youth?” Officer Hawk asked calmly.

“That would be correct.” Dr. Kern said, walking towards Halley.

“Well, looky here; you’re in violation of not only Halley Amara’s restraining orders, but also Venessa Rossie’s and Fallon Harper’s. The orders also say that those girls are also not allowed to be in that institution. So, Mr. Kern, you are being placed under arrest.” Officer Hawk said calmly.

“You’re out of damn mind! That old bat doesn’t know what she’s talking about; the husband is at least sensible! She has no one else, so he signed her over to us!” Dr. Kern yelled furiously.

“Oh, but a will trumps that.” Office Hawk said simply.

“What will?” Dr. Kern asked, pissed off.

“Her dad’s: the one that states her brother gets custody of her if he should choose.” Officer Hawk said seriously.

“Oh, for crying out loud! She doesn’t have a brother! Ok, sure, biologically she does; however, he was kidnapped years ago and doesn’t know about her. Why would he drop everything he has for her, someone he doesn’t know?” Dr. Kern asked, annoyed, looking at Officer Hawk.

“Because she the family I never had; she is my family, and I’m not throwing her away like some piece of trash! I’ve heard plenty about you; there’s no way in hell I’d let you take her. Oh, and Elliot Grant, he really does exist.” Wesley said seriously, stepping out in front of Halley, causing her to look up; she had seen the brown hair and immediately thought of her dad. 

Wesley had simply had enough; Halley was his younger sister, and nothing was going to change that; he would protect her no matter what.

“What the hell is this?! There is no possible way! I killed you! 

I came to your home and shot you square in the head, heart, and chest several times! You are dead!” Dr. Kern yelled, somewhere between anger, confusion, and fear, causing Halley to really lose it.

“You did what?!” Venessa and Fallon asked in shock, standing there, after walking in.

“I killed him…” Dr. Kern growled.

“So, you killed her dad?” Fallon asked in shock.

“News flash, dumbass; that’s not her dad, that’s her brother that doesn’t exist. And I’m guessing that blonde guy is Elliot Grant, who also doesn’t exist.” Venessa said, pissed off.

“Either way; I killed him once, and I can do it again!” Dr. Kern yelled, pulling out a gun and pointed it at Wesley.

“NO!!” Halley screamed, running in front of Wesley, just as the bang of the gun went off…


	3. Chapter 3

One gunshot: Dr. Kern went to shoot Wesley, but Halley ran in front of him; she didn’t want to lose him too.

A second gunshot: the officer who was in charge and had asked all the questions, shot Dr. Kern in the side.

“Halley!” Venessa and Fallon screamed after Dr. Kern shot his gun; the bullet had hit Halley in the shoulder.

Dr. Kern went down, howling in pain; Halley stayed standing, eyes tightly closed as she waited to be hit.

“We need two more EMTs and ambulances! Ms. Amara?” The office yelled as his partner checked up on Dr. Kern. He then walked over to Halley and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hmm?” Halley asked, opening her eyes.

“Ma’am, can you tell me your full name?” An EMT asked, walking over right away.

“Halley-Hope Rose Amara.” Halley answered, looking at an EMT and the officer.

“Can you tell me your birthday and age?” The EMT asked, looking at Halley.

“I just turned fifteen on April 2nd.” Halley answered softly.

“Do you know the year you were born?” The EMT asked, pulling out a little flashlight.

“2005…” Halley answered, somewhat annoyed.

“Do you know where you are?” The EMT asked, looking at her.

“Café Mew something… My grandpa sent me here to drop some pastries off…” Halley answered, looking from the EMT to the officer.

“Please hold still and follow my finger with just your eyes.” The EMT instructed calmly, shining a small light in Halley’s eyes.

Halley was taken aback by the light and jerked away, but quickly did what the EMT told her, and followed his finger.i

“Well, she’s alert. What did you say the emergency was with her? Oh, wait. I see what you mean. But I don’t see any blood.” The EMT said, putting the flashlight away before looking at Halley’s left shoulder.

“Why would you see blood?” Halley asked, clearly confused.

“You were shot…” Corina said in a bored tone of voice.

“No I wasn’t.” Halley said, scratching her head.

“What do you think?” The cop asked, looking from the EMT to Halley.

“Well, she could be running on adrenaline, be in shock, or both. Please hold still; I’m just going to check on the bullet wound. Or she could be fine; it really depends on what type of bullet we’re talking about and how far away he was shooting from. However, from where she’s standing now, to where that man was, there’s no way that she’s not injured in some way or another… Haha.” The EMT started explaining before laughing a little.

“What is it?” Everyone in the room asked.

“There’s no way she’s not injured, unless something’s blocking the trajectory of the bullet… Like two layers of thick leather, like so… Excuse me…” The EMT said, removing a leather belt and bracelet.

“Hey, those are Venessa’s!” Fallon yelled as she and Venessa walked over.

“What were they doing on Ms. Amara’s shoulder?” The cop asked right away.

“Jason, my ex… We had found out he had planted some kind of tracking device inside my belt and bracelet.” Venessa answered calmly.

“Why did he do that?” The office asked as the EMT placed the belt and bracelet into an evidence bag.

“Because he’s obsessed.” Fallon shot right away.

“He was abusive towards me when we dated. It took me some time to realize he wasn’t good for me and if I stayed with him, I’d most likely end up dead. Though, I will say, if it weren’t for him, I would’ve never started defense classes and such. I also would’ve never found out I don’t like guys…in that way. But anyway, I broke up with him; he didn’t take it well and started following me everywhere. No matter where I went, he’d be there. It wasn’t until today that we figured the chip thing out because we left Italy: he didn’t…well, at the time we did anyway. None of us told him we were coming here.” Venessa explained calmly, yet slightly annoyed.

“What are you doing with them?” Fallon asked right away, becoming defensive.

“They’re evidence; we have to take them.” The officer said calmly, handing the bag to another officer.

“Will she get them back?” Fallon asked right away; she knew how much those meant to Venessa.

“Fallon, it’s fine; they can take them.” Venessa said seriously.

“But Halley made them for you…” Fallon started, becoming dramatic.

“Yeah, and I said it’s fine; I have other things she’s given or made me. And I’m sure I’ll get more from her. If it weren’t for those, Halley would have a bullet in her shoulder and be on her way to a hospital.” Venessa explained 

“Protesting the entire way…” Fallon mumbled.

“Yeah… She really doesn’t like the hospital…” Venessa sighed.

“Well, we’ll be on our way. Try to have a good rest of your day. And Ms. Amara and Mr. Coolridge: congratulations on your family situation.” The officer said as he, the other officer, and the EMT left.

“So, now what?” Corina asked in disbelief.

“Hey, look at what I found; it’s one of the cutest little things I’ve ever seen!” Fallon exclaimed happily.

“Oh boy… What you think is cute, usually isn’t.” Venessa sighed, placing her hand on her head.

“Look!” Fallon exclaimed, showing them a dark brown tarantula.

“Oh, that’s Bonnie.” Venessa said casually like it was nothing.

“Eh?” Fallon asked, confused.

“That’s one of Jason’s tarantulas; he had two: Bonnie and Clyde. I wonder where Clyde is; they’re usually always together.” Venessa said calmly.

“Hey, where’d Halley go?” Fallon asked, noticing Halley was gone.

“Hold on…” Venessa sighed as she disappeared outside.

When she came back, Venessa was holding some kind of crate.

“Here.” She said simply.

“What’s that?” Fallon asked, looking at the crate.

“It’s Bonnie and Clyde’s home. Now, we have to find Clyde before…” “WAHHHH!!!” “That happens…” Venessa started explaining before they heard Halley scream; she then sighed.

“What is she doing in the kitchen?” Fallon asked, looking at Venessa.

“Probably hiding from Bonnie. I bet you she found Clyde.” Venessa sighed, walking to the kitchen.

“What’s wrong with Bonnie and Clyde?” Fallon asked, confused.

“You’re kidding, right? Halley is extremely afraid of spiders.” Venessa said, not looking back.

“But these are pets.” Fallon called, following her.

“Still a spider. Stay out here. One tarantula is bad enough; we don’t need her having a worse panic attack than she probably already is.” Venessa explained just before entering the kitchen to find Halley sitting on the counter, crunched in a corner as Clyde started crawling up the cabinet.

Venessa just sighed, walked over, picked the tarantula up, and carried it out to Fallon.

“Cool… Do you think Jason would mind if I took these two home?” Fallon asked excitedly.

“Yeah, he probably would. However, I don’t really give a fuck; take them if you really want. But the real question is: will your dad allow that?” Venessa asked, looking directly at Fallon.

“I don’t see why not; he has three in the living room.” Fallon said calmly.

“Ok. Oh, and Halley’s petrified, sitting on a counter in the kitchen. So, you need to get rid of those or something before she comes back out. You know damn well she knows they’re still here. She will not leave that counter, let alone kitchen until they’re not in here.” Venessa said sternly.

Just then, Fallon’s phone started binging at her; it was her dad.

“That’s fine. Dad wants me home; he needs help finding Gretta.” Fallon said with a smile.

“Gretta?” Venessa asked, giving Fallon a confused look.

“His anthill python. She’s a very small python. Joker is his normal sized python; he lives in the basement with all the other snakes.” Fallon said with a smile.

“Well, you can forget about inviting Halley over. No, seriously; don’t invite her over.” Venessa said seriously.

“Why not?” Fallon asked, tilting her head to the side, causing Venessa to just look at her like a deer in headlights.

“Yes… Take Halley, who is terrified of spiders and snakes into a house filled with them; she’d die just walking through the door…” Venessa growled, narrowing her eyes at Fallon.

“Well, I’d better be going. I’ll see you later. Love you. Umm… Halley, I have to go; dad needs help with something! I’ll see you later! Good luck!” Fallon yelled before leaving the café, pretty much running out.

“Jeez… She is so lucky I love her. Halley, the spiders are gone; it’s safe to come out.” Venessa mumbled before walking to the kitchen.

“Fallon had to go?” Halley asked softly, sliding off the counter.

“Yeah. Are you sure you’re ready to meet Wesley?” Venessa asked, concerned.

“Yeah. But my legs feel like jelly.” Halley said softly.

“I can help with that. Hold still.” Venessa said, walking over to Halley.

“Well, I’m going home.” Corina said in a bored tone of voice.

“I don’t think so; you’re going to stay here and help clean up this mess. All of you are. Oh good, you’re back.” Elliot said seriously, just as Aria walked in.

“Well, where is she?” Aria asked, annoyed.

“Why do you care?” Venessa asked, pissed off, walking out of the kitchen with Halley hung over her shoulder.

“Excuse me? I’ve come to apologize.” Aria said, glaring at Venessa.

“Seriously? I’m guessing you have a boyfriend or something, and he made you apologize. I can read it all over your face that you don’t mean it, and that you’re just annoyed at the thought.” Venessa said, annoyed.

“Most would ask why I would be apologizing, not question me. You don’t know what I’m even apologizing for!” Aria shot back.

“Oh, don’t I?” Venessa challenged. 

“No, you don’t. You and that other girl weren’t in here when I did what I did that I need to apologize for!” Aria shot back, becoming more and more agitated.

“Yeah, that’s true; we weren’t in here. But we were waiting by the entrance way. We heard what you had to say; we’re not deaf. In fact, my hearing is more than perfect. With that said: when you know nothing about anything, keep your damn mouth shut! You don’t know Halley; you don’t know how she grew up, or what she’s been going through. Don’t bring up shit you don’t know anything about…or someone you don’t know!” Venessa yelled, pissed off.

“Oh, I know her well enough. She just showed up out of nowhere…” Aria started, only to stop when Venessa just sighed and set Halley down.

“Halley, go meet your brother; I’ve got some business to take care of.” Venessa growled.

“If I were you, I’d start running…” Halley said softly, giving Aria a fair warning.

“Listen to me, and you listen well. You don’t know Halley, Fallon, or me, but you’re about to get to know me…personally. If I were you, I would seriously take Halley’s advice and run. You don’t know what any of us—what Halley—went through! Aside from meeting Wesley, her brother, do you really think Halley wants to be here? Do you think she wants to live with and watch her grandparents deteriorate? Halley, I’m sorry for what I’m about to say. Answering those questions: no, Halley doesn’t want to be here; she would rather be at home, in Italy with her dad! If it were at possible and she had to choose between having money and material things or her dad back, she’d wants her dad back! She has never cared about money…or the money that her family has! Money is nice to have, but it ain’t nothing to her! All she wants is her family! Wesley is her brother, plain and simple! She doesn’t want his money or anything like that; she wants a relationship with him! Are you really that small-minded or shallow to believe that his sister wants nothing more than to meet and get to know her brother?! Me, personally, I don’t give a rat’s ass or flying fuck whether you’re friends with Wesley, or not. I don’t give a rat’s ass or flying if you apologize to Halley or not and she forgives you or not; as long as Wesley decides to keep Halley around and you’re around as well, you will constantly be on my radar. Halley’s a nicer person than I am; she forgives people a little easier than I do…depending on the situation. You **DO NOT** get to say shit about someone you don’t know! Now, for Halley’s sake, I will not go after you…today. But I kid you not, I’m warning you: open your big mouth to say something like that ever again, I will beat the ever-loving crap out of you. You see, I don’t really give a crap if I go to jail or whatever because of that; I’ll go there for Halley and Fallon. It really don’t matter to me. Nothing compares to that hellhole I was in before. I don’t know you, but I know I don’t like you. With that said, that place—that place Halley, Fallon, and I got stuck in…I wouldn’t wish that on you or my worst enemy. The only people that should have to ever go through that are Dr. Kern and Jason. Dr. Kern—if he survives being shot—to feel what we went through. Jason because he’s worse than my worst enemy; he’s a perverted pedophile. No, I’m not talking about Halley; there are other issues. But I won’t get into that. In addition to that, he’s related to Dr. Kern and obviously shares the same delusional views. Now, if you’d excuse me, I have to get some air, and try to calm down. And Halley: don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine.” Venessa explained, beyond pissed off, yelling here and there before walking out of the café, slamming the doors on her way out.

“Wow…what the hell was that? And you: she’s your friend; why didn’t you stop her?” Aria asked, looking directly at Halley.

“I know better. Nessie’s very protective… And when she gets mad—very mad, there’s no stopping her. I’m kind of surprised she held herself back so well; she was actually being kind of nice.” Halley explained, shocking everyone in the room.

“That was nice and being held back?!” Aria screamed, freaking out.

“Yes.” Halley answered calmly.

“How the hell was that nice and holding herself back?!” Aria screamed.

“You’re still standing. Back in Italy, some older boys made her really mad—worse than you. She broke a wooden baseball bat beating them up; they were in the hospital for a few days.” Halley explained calmly.

“No wonder she was sent to the looney bin…” Aria mumbled.

“That’s not why we ended up there. Besides, that was years before of that happened. I think I was eight at that time…so, she would’ve been ten…I think.” Halley said, thinking about how.

“How the hell didn’t she get in trouble for that? Were there no witnesses?” Aria asked in disbelief.

“No, there were plenty of witnesses; they just never came forward or anything. Not for why you’re thinking. With the exception of their families, nobody liked them…or their families. Everyone thought they deserved what they got. Well, most thought they deserved more. But Venessa didn’t want to kill them; she said death was too good for them. They were later arrested for something or other and they’re families were kicked out of Italy and sent to…Mexico…I think. But yes, Venessa was being very nice today, I think; she’s been doing a lot better with her anger. For the most part, she’s more talk—uhhh—more screaming and yelling, than she is anything else. She really hasn’t sent anyone to a hospital since that day with the older boys.” Halley explained calmly, yet seriously.

Right away, Wesley and Elliot noticed that Halley kind of repeats herself and stumbles on what she wants to say. 

Oh, and that she’s incredibly soft-spoken at all times; she doesn’t really yell. Sure, she gets annoyed, but she never talks any louder than she does. It’s like she only has one volume.

“Ok… Aria, grab a broom or something, and start helping the others and me clean the café.” Elliot said seriously, looking directly at Aria.

“But… I’m supposed to be out with Tyler!” Aria complained right away.

“Yeah, and I’m supposed to have a date with Mark. But the café’s kind of a disaster zone. Now, get to work.” Zoey said seriously as she grabbed a broom.

“And you… Don’t worry about the mess; just talk to Wesley.” Elliot said, somewhat at a loss for words.

“There’s a spot back here that’s not destroyed; you can talk here. Come on!” Kiki exclaimed happily, running over to Halley, grabbed her arm and drug her over to where they had been standing earlier.

“Good luck.” Zoey whispered to Wesley as he passed her on his way to where Halley was.

“Thanks.” Wesley replied with a small smile.

Halley was leaning against a wall when he got over there, looking up at the ceiling; she took a deep breath when she heard him.

“I understand if you can’t do this today…” Wesley started, only to be interrupted when she looked away from the ceiling to look at him.

“I’m fine, really. Yes, you look just like dad, except your eyes; you have your mother’s eyes. But uh…dad—he did warn me that you looked like him.” Halley said softly, looking directly at Wesley.

“You were close with your dad, weren’t you?” Wesley asked calmly, trying not to upset her.

“Yes. People always asked him how we could be as close as we were; we seemed more like best friends. You’re not supposed to be friends with your parents…parents are supposed to be a parent, not friends. Truth is, we were best friends, but he was always dad first…especially when going places. Even with Nessie and Fallon: he was like a dad to them as well; they were over all the time…or, as much as they could be. Grandma really likes and considers them family as well. They’re not crazy…” Halley explained softly, with a sad smile.

“I know they’re not. Your grandma explained the whole Dr. Kern situations.” Wesley started but stopped when she looked down, upset.

“You had a good life…with the people you lived with?” Halley asked softly, still looking down.

That was when Wesley realized what he had said that might have upset her.

“Yes, I had a good life; they treated me like their own son. However, as it would turn out, that was all just a lie. I’m sure I would’ve had just great of life if I hadn’t been taken as a child. But who knows how things would’ve played out if I weren’t? There’s a chance you wouldn’t exist and be standing here today.” Wesley explained calmly.

“Yes, I know; Grandma says that often. You’ve known Elliot long?” Halley asked, taking another deep breath before looking up.

“Yeah. Let’s see; I’ve known Elliot for about ten or eleven years, but I knew his dad first a few years before I met Elliot. His dad used to come to my school twice a week and teach an advance science class I was in. I actually lived with them for some time after my parents were killed… Sorry.” Wesley explained and then apologized right away.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. If I were in your position, I’d probably be the same way. I don’t know… I wasn’t in your shoes; I can’t judge. I only know what dad had told me about you and such. He was thrilled when he found out you were alive and well…but he wasn’t happy with the people who took you; he thought they were his friends. He said some nasty stuff that I won’t repeat. I know I’m not smart and have a lot of issues. But I know well enough that, as long as you were taken care of and they didn’t hurt you, that it should be enough, knowing you’re alive and well. But Daddy, he wasn’t having any of it.” Halley honestly said, starting to shake a little.

“Are you alright?” Wesley asked, noticing her shake right away.

“Yeah, I’m fine; this is normal. Shaking is a side-effect from being born early…and not getting enough oxygen to my brain. This isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be.” Halley said, not really worrying about it.

“Ok.” Wesley said, looking at her, unsure.

“So… How has Elliot been? Daddy told me what had happened—told me why he stopped calling. But he said he was told there were no survivors. He was told that all the doors and windows had been blocked so that nobody could get out. But Elliot…he’s right there…” Halley explained, shaking even more as they looked to where everyone else was cleaning.

“Hold on one second.” Wesley said before walking over to Elliot.

“What is it?” Elliot asked, just as Venessa walked back in.

“There’s something you need to hear…now.” Wesley said seriously, getting Elliot’s attention.

“Ok.” Elliot said, setting a broom down and followed Wesley over to Halley.

When they got to Halley, they saw her suddenly smack her upper left arm.

When she pulled her hand away and opened up, she looked terrified before collapsing to the floor, struggling to breathe.

“Halley?!” Wesley exclaimed as he and Elliot ran over to her, immediately followed by Venessa.

“What happened?!” Venessa asked right away.

“What’s in her hand?” Elliot asked, looking at Halley’s clenched hand.

“It looks like…a bee.” Wesley said, prying Halley’s hand over to reveal a dead bee.

“A bee?! Was she stung?! Where’s her bag?!” Venessa asked right away, panicked, backing away.

Wesley and Elliot didn’t need to ask; Halley was allergic to bee stings. And by the looks of it—severely or deathly allergic.

“I’ll be right back.” Elliot said, getting up.

“Ok.” Wesley said, laying Halley on her back.

“Girls call an ambulance. Tell them to come back to the café: Halley’s having a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting!” Elliot yelled, running upstairs.

Elliot was back downstairs within two minutes with an EpiPen just as Venessa found Halley’s bag.

“She uses a basic EpiPen?” Elliot asked, looking at Venessa, passing.

“Yeah…” Venessa said, out of breath.

“Don’t worry about finding her pen; I have one. When you find hers, set it on a table.” Elliot said calmly, going back to Wesley and Halley; he had the pen ready right when he got there and jabbed into Halley’s inner thigh.

The EMT from earlier walked through the door after another minute or two.

“That was fast…” Corina said in disbelief.

“That’s a good thing though.” Zoey said seriously as the EMT from before, plus another one went over to Halley.

“We had to stop for gas on the way back to the hospital. We weren’t that far away as we were also on break.” The second EMT explained as the first EMT and Wesley got Halley onto a stretcher.

“Has she been given an EpiPen?” The first EMT asked calmly.

“Yeah, about two minutes ago.” Wesley answered right away.

“Ok. Great. You’re her brother, yes?” The first EMT asked calmly.

“Yeah.” Wesley answered right away; he quickly got used to that.

“Are you going with her?” The EMT asked as they headed to the ambulance.

“Yes, he is. Trust me. She’s not going to want to be alone in there…whether she’s fully away or not; she absolutely hates hospitals and ambulance rides. This is a list of everything she’s allergic to, and her bag. I’ll get Grandma know what’s going on.” Venessa answered for Wesley and then explained, handing him Halley’s bag and a list.

“Go; we’ll get everything cleaned up here.” Elliot said calmly, yet seriously.

Wesley didn’t say anything; he just got in the ambulance with the EMTs and Halley.

“Do you need a ride to wherever you need to be?” Elliot asked, looking at Venessa.

“Nah; I got this. I’d help you clean, but I have to get a hold of Grandma and Fallon. Before I go, here. This is so ridiculously retarded. She survives a bullet but is nearly killed by a fucking bee…” Venessa explained, slightly pissed off, handing Elliot an EpiPen before taking off.

“Ok. Back to work. The quicker you get this done, the quicker you can leave.” Elliot said seriously, heading upstairs to put the EpiPen where the other one previously was.

“…No…” Halley moaned out, harshly breathing and panting, tossing her head side to side as the EMT tried to get her hooked up to everything.

“Halley, you have to let him do his job. This is going to help you in the long run. Please, let him do his job.” Wesley said, slowly taking Halley’s hand in his.

“Daddy?” Halley asked, barely audible, looking up at the roof before her heart monitor showed her heart slowing down.

“She’s flatlining. Sir, you need to let go of her hand. Get the paddles.” The one EMT said as calmly, yet urgently as he could as Wesley let go of Halley’s hand.

“Daddy…” Halley repeated for completely losing consciousness…


	4. Chapter 4

** Three Days Later: **

It had been three days since Wesley met his sister, Halley—and since she was stung by a bee. 

Right now, she’s in a coma.

Despite not knowing her—unless Wesley had to use the bathroom, he hasn’t left her hospital room—let alone her side.

Thanks to Elliot, Tessie, Venessa, and Fallon have all been by to visit—seeing as they had no ride or means to get there.

Zoey, Corina, Bridget, Kiki, and Renee all came to visit once or twice.

“How is she? How is she?” Elliot asked, patting Wesley on his shoulder; he had just walked in from the cafeteria.

Except for Renee, all the girls were at school—Tessie was in a chair resting.

“Well—Tessie’s sleeping; she just finally fell asleep. Halley’s finally stable—and stable enough to come out of ICU. However, she hasn’t woken up yet.” Wesley answered.

“Well—at least she’s stable. I see the girls have been here.” Elliot said, looking at the small bedside table filled with “Get Well” cards and balloons, and random knick-knacks.

“Yes, there’s always that. And yes; they’ve all been here. Well, all except for Aria.” Wesley calmly said with a sigh, leaning back into his chair.

“I talked to her; she apologizes—and will do so when she sees Halley next. She was having a bad day or something like that and just took it out on her. While she knows—now—that it was wrong, she just worries about you. And while she’ll apologize to Halley—she really doesn’t like Venessa. Then she just started going on and on about all that.” Elliot explained, throwing his head back, slightly annoyed; he really didn’t want to get caught up in the drama.

“Well—honestly, I don’t think Venessa has any interest in being Aria’s friend any time soon.” Wesley said with a small chuckle.

“Venessa will come around in due time.” Tessie said, slowly waking up.

“Are you feeling well?” Wesley asked, looking at Tessie; she looked pale.

“Oh, yeah—I’m fine. I’m just going to waddle my way to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I know you’re giving up a lot for her—and I appreciate it. Just remember, you don’t have to if you don’t absolutely want to. You really didn’t get a whole lot of time to think.” Tessie said, looking at Wesley.

“Oh no, it’s perfectly fine. There’s really nothing to think about; she’s family—my family. She’s not a lie; she’s just—a secret. Yeah—I know it’s a bad analogy, but it’s the only thing I could think of. All in all, it is what it is. Until she decides she no longer needs or wants me, I’ll be there for her.” Wesley seriously said.

“I’m so glad to hear that. And you… I’m glad to finally have a face to the person. I used to hear a lot about you. Oh, I should probably be headed home; someone needs to take care of the cats.” Tessie absentmindedly said.

“Just wait; I’ll give you a ride.” Elliot said right away; he was still standing anyway.

“Oh, pish-posh! Don’t worry about me; I’ll get a cab. If she wakes before I return, let her know I love her more than anything—and that I’ll see her after a little bit.

** Two Hours Later: **

** In A Hazy Place: **

“Halley, it’s time for you to wake up now. You’ve been asleep for far too long now.” A voice calmly said.

“Daddy? Where am I?” Halley softly asked, looking around.

“Well—from what I understand—a lot of people call it “Limbo.” Not six and not seven. Not Hell and not Heaven. You’re somewhere in between—and you need to go back.” Tony calmly said.

“What about you?” Halley asked hopeful, looking at Tony.

“Baby, I’m dead; I’m not coming back. I can’t come back.” Tony calmly explained.

“Bu-but—yo-you’re he-here in Limbo too.” Halley stuttered out.

“I’m just visiting, Baby. My job now, is the same as it was then. My job is—and has always been to keep you alive. You need to live on—with your brother, Elliot, Venessa, Fallon, and several other girls like you. Show them the mark on your wrist.” Tony explained.

“No… They’ll just laugh at me—like everyone else. It’s what got me into all the trouble I was in before. I want them to think I’m normal—at least a little bit.” Halley protested right away.

“But Baby—you’re not normal. And Elliot and Wesley can help you understand what that mark means. Elliot’s dad did his best to try to help you—until I pulled you away too soon. I should’ve never pulled you away from them like that. But now—Elliot can help you. His dad did say he was smarter than him by miles at that age. And if they can’t figure it out—at least you’ll be with people who can understand you—and Venessa and Fallon. And if memory serves—Venessa and Fallon didn’t laugh at or make fun of you. In fact, they both have some mark on their bodies as well. Don’t worry about any of that.” Tony calmly explained with a smile.

“Daddy… Can’t I stay with you—at least a little bit longer?” Halley asked, looking at Tony.

“You know the answer to that.” Tony sighed.

“But I miss you.” Halley sobbed.

“Baby, I’m right here. I’ll always be right there and there.” Tony said, pointing to her heart and head with a smile.

“And Baby—if that’s not enough; you can always look at Wesley. No, he will never be me—and he looks from his mother. But he still has me in him—as do you. Look at you in a hospital bed. You’re not alone, are you?” Tony seriously asked.

“No…” Halley mumbled.

“Who’s all there?” Tony seriously asked.

“Wesley and Elliot?” Halley softly asked.

“Yes. Asides from going to get your grandma and the girls—and using the bathroom, Elliot hasn’t left your side. Asides from using the bathroom, Wesley hasn’t left you—not even once. It’s time to move on and live your life.” Tony seriously said.

“And you won’t be alone.” Tessie said, appearing out of nowhere.

“Mom?” “Grandma?” Tony and Halley asked in shock.

“Yeah?” Tessie asked, looking around like it was nothing.

“Why are you in Limbo?” Halley asked, confused.

“Visiting.” Tessie simply.

“Mom…” Tony asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I died in a car explosion. Don’t worry; I had everything filled, filed, and officially documented for the courts. Everything of mine, plus the house, belong to Wesley and Halley.” Tessie calmly said.

“Halley, Baby, you need to go back. We both love you very much.” Tony seriously said, pleading with his daughter.

“Halley, come here. Talk with me.” Tessie said, taking Halley by the arm; she then led her directly over her body.

“We love you more than anything. You have a great brother and great friends. Let them help you. Now, it’s time to go back. Tell everyone hi.” Tessie said with a huge smile, pushing Halley back to her body.

** In The Hospital Room: **

After a few seconds, Halley lurched forward a little and took a deep, painful breath.

“Halley? Halley, breathe. Breathe.” Wesley quickly said, rubbing her back as he pressed the red call button.

“Gran-ma. Gran-ma…” Halley repeated as she tried catching her breath.

“What was she saying?” Elliot asked, looking at Wesley.

“Gran-ma? Grandma.” Wesley asked and then answered after thinking about it.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Three nurses went over to Halley while the doctor stayed to talk to Wesley.

“I was told that Tessie Amara had been in and out of this room these past few days. Is that correct?” The doctor asked, looking at Wesley.

“Yeah; she’s Halley’s—our grandma. Sorry. Long story short. When I was four, I was kidnapped and didn’t find out until a week or so ago.” Wesley explained, running his hand through his hair.

“Yes… I vaguely heard that. Anyway, I’m afraid I’m going to have to give you some bad news. Tessie and several others were on a bus earlier that exploded. The bus driver was the only living person removed from the bus two hours ago; he just died on the operating table. Tessie, your grandmother, was sitting at the end of the bus when and where it went off; she died on impact. Now, there is a grandfather—Tessie’s husband—Conrad. However, I would not recommend he see Halley right now; he’s a little out of it. I think the shock of his wife’s death was too much for him; he is repeatedly calling Halley a cursed witch and is blaming it on her. I don’t have a whole lot on Halley—and you said you were kidnapped? Are there any parents or guardians we can get a hold of?” The doctor explained and then asked.

“I just received custody of Halley. Our dad died a few months ago and he left me her. Umm… From what I understand, there were some medical, legal and travel issues within the past six months. Up until a few days ago—what was supposed to be the beginning of next month, Halley had been staying with Conrad and Tessie. I don’t know or remember my mother—but I know Halley has a different one, who isn’t fit to be a parent. Right now, the only thing I have for her is a list of things she’s allergic to. From what I understand, she doesn’t like to go to hospitals unless she absolutely has to.” Wesley honestly explained with a sigh.

“Ah. Ok. Do you know what hospital she was at last?” The doctor asked, looking at Wesley.

“Unfortunately, no. The only thing I can tell you, is that she came from Italy. The only people who would’ve known what hospital she was in previously would’ve been her grandma—and maybe Venessa and Fallon. Venessa and Fallon are two of Halley’s best friends; they moved here from Italy as well.” Wesley said, thinking of everything.

“Ok. Can you tell me her full name?” The doctor asked, looking at Wesley.

“Halley-Hope Rose Amara. My name—the name I grew up know is Wesley Jesse Coolridge III. However, I guess my birth name is Wesley Jacob Amara.” Wesley calmly answered.

“Ok. Thank you. Can I get her birthday?” The doctor calmly asked.

“April 2nd, 2005.” Wesley answered calmly.

“Ok. Thank you. How is she?” The doctor said with a polite smile before asking his nurse.

“She still stable. However, she does have a fever of 101.8, her pulse is a little fast, her BP is a little low—oh, and she’s a bit delirious. Otherwise she’s fine.” The nurse answered right away; she had to be to another patient.

“Delirious how?” The doctor asked, stopping his nurse.

“She keeps saying how her dead dad and grandma were talking to her in Limbo. I know for a fact her dad died a few months ago—and her grandma was just here a few hours ago.” The nurse replied.

“That’s actually quite common with coma patients. Yes, I believe her grandmother was just here a few hours ago—but she did die about an hour ago; she was on that bus explosion. A lot of coma patients will often have conversations with deceased loved ones. But I see you need to be heading out. You leave within an hour, so we’ll just let Jenny take care of things from here.” The doctor said, excusing the one nurse.

“Sorry—we’re a little short-staffed today. Jenny will be one of her nurses until shift change. Anything goes wrong, just press the red button. Someone will keep me in the loop. She just woke up from a three-day-coma, has a fever, high BP, and fast pulse… Hmm… We’ll start with—I’d like to keep her for another three days to monitor her. After that, we’ll go from there.” The doctor calmly explained, thinking about some things.

“Ok. Thank you.” Wesley politely said, shaking the doctor’s hand.

“Thank you for being so cooperative. You’d be surprised at how many aren’t after a bee sting.” The doctor said with a smile, shaking Wesley’s hand before leaving.

“Do you want me to leave?” Elliot asked, looking at Wesley.

“No—you’re fine. She knows you.” Wesley calmly replied.

“Ok.” Elliot sighed as they walked over to Halley, who was trying to sit up.

“Do you want any help with that?” Wesley kindly asked, watching Halley struggle with the bed’s mechanics.

“Yes, please.” Halley huffed, looking up at the ceiling.

“Can I have my glasses, please? The nurse wouldn’t give them to me. Did they break?” Halley asked after a few seconds, slightly panicked.

“No, they’re right here.” Wesley said, getting her situated before handing her her glasses.

“Thanks.” Halley softly said, placing her glasses.

“So—just to rip some bandaids off…” Wesley started.

“Grandma died in some accident and I have to stay here for a few days. I know—I heard.” Halley softly said.

“You have good hearing?” Wesley asked, looking at Halley.

“You don’t, do you?” Halley asked, turning her head to look at Wesley.

“Yes and No. I certainly can’t hear from that distance.” Wesley said, looking at Halley.

“Somewhat normal hearing. Daddy—he couldn’t hear worth a quarter if he were doing something requiring noise. If you wanted to talk to him, you had to make sure he wasn’t doing anything—or watching a movie. But then you couldn’t hear the movie—or show.” Halley softly explained.

“Well—that kind of sounds familiar. The only difference is that he doesn’t talk during movies.” Elliot said, smirking at Wesley.

“So—as much as I hate to bring this up—your mother has good hearing?” Wesley asked, looking at Halley.

“No. She blew her hearing out when she was—younger—blasting music through headphones. I met your mom once. She didn’t like me very much—but she heard everything within two feet of her. That was one of the times I ever heard Daddy very angry and yell—a lot.” Halley softly said, rubbing the back of her head.

“Grandparents on Mom’s side must have the good hearing.” Wesley said, turning around, trying not to upset Halley anymore.

“That doesn’t work. Thanks for trying to spare my feelings and whatnot, but I can still hear you. I don’t know my Mom’s parents. I don’t know if they’re dead. If they know about me or not. I don’t think she has a relationship with them.” Halley said, leaning forward with her hands in her face; she was getting a headache.

“Are you alright? Do you want a doctor?” Wesley asked, concerned.

“Thanks, but no. I just have a headache—it happens every time I get stung by a bee or something else, I’m allergic to.” Halley softly explained.

“So, you must’ve just gotten lucky with having really good hearing then?” Elliot asked, looking at Halley.

“If you want to call it that…” Halley mumbled.

“What does that mean?” Elliot asked, interested, looking at Halley.

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you… It only ever gets me into trouble…” Halley mumbled, looking at her hands.

“Halley, what’s wrong?” Wesley cautiously asked as he and Elliot sat down.

“I died—twice. The first time for a few seconds—Mr. Grant pulled me out of the water and saved me. The second time was for Four minutes and forty-four seconds. Fours are bad. Daddy drove himself crazy trying to figure out what “four” meant. It took four minutes and twenty-four seconds to get out onto the ice. Four seconds to fall through the ice with forty-four seconds under the water. The ride to the hospital was fifty-four minutes from the house I was at. I legally died four minutes away from the hospital and was revived forty-four seconds after I got to the hospital. Wesley and I were both born in April—the fourth month of the year. I have four names. Wesley was kidnapped at age four. While it’s not four, Wesley and I are eight years apart—which is a variant of four. I was born four weeks and four days early—and spent four months in a NICU. My foot fell through the fourth stair towards the bottom and fourth to the top; I received fourteen stitches in my leg and forty-four in my arm. Fours are bad—I just don’t know why. There are a lot more “four” problems as well. Pretty much all last year I had pneumonia or bronchitis.” Halley explained, rocking back and forth a little.

“Well, for some people, things like that happen.” Elliot calmly said.

“Do weird marks show up on peoples’ bodies when something like that happens?” Halley softly asked, holding her head again.

“What do you mean?” Wesley asked, concerned.

“When I fell through the ice, all was normal—except for the giant elves—and a colorful cat. When I was released from the hospital, I gained a weird mark on my wrist. I—I don’t know why I’m saying anything because it only ever gets me into trouble. Nobody ever believes me—or they just humor me. Same with Venessa and Fallon. Them, Daddy, Mr., and Mrs. Grant—they were they only ones who believed me. Mr. Grant used to take pictures and some blood work. I met Venessa and Fallon—they had marks too. I thought finally for once that I wasn’t crazy. But nobody believed them either—so Daddy just said not to tell anyone anymore… Mmmhmmhmm…” Halley cried, holding her head.

“Ok… I’m calling someone. Clearly your head is hurting you more than you think. As for your mark—we’ll talk about that when you’re better. I think you’ll find you, Vanessa, and Fallon aren’t alone. But for now—lie back, relax and let’s get you feeling better first.” Wesley seriously said, forcing her to lie back on the bed…


	5. Chapter 5

** Three Days Later: **

Halley was still in the hospital—it turned out her headaches were severe migraines from hitting her head hard enough. Although, she didn’t hit her head hard enough to have any brain damage—which is a good thing.

Her migraines were so severe, Halley couldn’t stand without immediately feeling dizzy and falling over.

She was also severely dehydrated with a minor case of pneumonia.

Between the migraines, being severely dehydrated, and pneumonia, Halley was not allowed to leave the hospital—much to her displeasure.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Nikos. How are we doing today?” A doctor asked, walking in.

“Fine.” Halley answered, staring at the ceiling; Dr. Nikos could tell she was still having dizzy spells.

“Well, according to your nurses, you’re still dehydrated, but the pneumonia is gone. If you ever want to get out of here, you have to start settling down because your blood pressure is higher than it should be. In fact it’s almost through the roof. Your blood sugar is a little low, but that can be fixed by eating something. I’m just not understanding why you’re still dehydrated. You’ve been here six days now and we’ve had you hooked to an IV the entire time.” Dr. Nikos explained, looking at Halley, who just stared back at him.

“What are you saying?” Wesley asked, looking at Dr. Nikos.

“I’m saying, I’d like to run some tests to see why her body seems to be rejecting water.” Dr. Nikos answered.

“What kind of tests?” Halley asked, looking directly at the doctor.

“The normal stuff: urine, blood work, full body CT Scan and MRI, and a spinal tap. I will be checking your liver, kidneys, and other internal organs.” Dr. Nikos explained, answering Halley, who was now beyond pale.

“Nope. Nope. Goodbye.” Halley spoke after a few minutes, removing her blanket before trying to get out of bed.

Halley had had enough; she didn’t want to be there anymore. She didn’t want to have these tests ran on her—especially the spinal tap.

Unfortunately for her, she had a massive dizzy spell and fell forward—into Elliot’s awaiting arms.

With Wesley’s help, he got Halley back into bed.

“I understand that you’re her older brother, and just received guardianship over her.” Dr. Nikos stated, looking at Wesley.

“Yes, that’s correct.” Wesley responded, covering Halley with the blanket.

“You have all authority here. If you don’t want her to have any of this done, we won’t do it; we can’t do anything without your signature. However, we recommend she stay here and have these tests ran—especially since her chart says she’s had meningitis before. But the call is up to you.” Dr. Nikos explained to Wesley.

“Run the tests. I’m sorry, Halley. I know you don’t want to be here anymore, but this is serious stuff. Think of what Dad would want.” Wesley gave permission, signing the papers before telling Halley.

Halley wasn’t all there; she was staring at the ceiling into nothingness with her hand, palm down on her forehead.

“Oh, because she’s having issues getting up and walking; she can’t successfully do so without having dizzy spells, falling over, and even fainting. I also recommend she have a catheter inserted.” Dr. Nikos added.

“Umm… That one may be a bit harder. She had a therapist who sexually assaulted her.” Wesley replied.

“Hmm… Well, we could sedate her.” Dr. Nikos suggested.

“No! I don’t wanna be sedated!” Halley screamed, throwing a pillow and having a panic attack.

“Ms. Amara—if you’re going to be throwing things, we may have no choice but to sedate you. For the safety of our staff, yourself, your visitors, possibly other patients, or visitors, we can and will go over your brother’s head and have it done. I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but I will if I have to. I understand that you don’t want to be here, but you’re just not well enough to leave—not without getting yourself killed. I’m not unsympathetic; I’m sorry for the loss of your father. With your history, I understand you may not trust men. We know of Dr. Kern and what he recently did to you and several other girls. We also see that your chart clearly states that you do not trust male doctors and would prefer a female because you were nearly raped by a Dr. Jamensen when you were ten and then again by a Dr. Hooper four years later when you were fourteen. Does that sound about right?” Dr. Nikos strictly warned before going over her history.

Halley didn’t reply; she just laid in bed, looking at the ceiling. 

“You’ll be glad to know that they’re both dead.” Dr. Nikos started, getting Halley’s attention. 

“You saw Dr. Jamensen was a doctor in Italy. His real name was Dr. Hans Webber. He was born in Germany and started his career there. He, however, lost his license there after raping three of his female patients. He then escaped to and started over in Mexico. Same thing happened and he transferred to France. Then to Russia, where he was nearly killed. His final stop was to Italy; he received the death penalty about three weeks ago.”

“Dr. Hooper you saw, here, in America while visiting your grandparents. You flipped your bike and landed in the street, avoiding a stray cat, a pothole, and a water fountain in the middle of town. Anyway, you were in shock for about a minute before you managed to stand up, only to be hit by a runaway dune buggy. Witnesses say you went up over the hood of the dune buggy and landed in the passenger seat before it crashed into a fire hydrant. That all started with a cat—go figure.” Dr. Nikos started explaining what happened to Dr. Jamensen and Dr. Hooper, only to go into why Halley was in the hospital with Dr. Hooper in the first place.

“Not a fan of cats?” Elliot asked, looking at the doctor.

“Not really, no; I prefer dogs. But I’m also allergic to cats. But continuing on. Ms. Amara, with that accident and an abundance of other accidents you’ve been in, I’d have to say you’re one very lucky young lady.” Dr. Nikos answered Elliot before telling Halley, who laid back down and moaned in annoyance.

Halley hated being called “one lucky girl.” 

“But Dr. Hooper; he was the doctor who saw you that day. Everything started out normal and just fine. You had a full body scan to find that only your right shoulder and elbow broke, but you had a ton of bruising. He later put you under anesthesia, but you were vaguely aware of what he was doing and if it weren’t for Nurse Hannah coming in to check on you, he would’ve successfully raped you. Nurse Hannah still works for the hospital if you ever want to talk to her. But anyway, Dr. Hooper was arrested, sentenced to fifteen to twenty-five years in prison. However, after only two and a half weeks in there, the other inmates found out he attempted to rape a fourteen-year-old girl and killed him.” Dr. Nikos finished explaining.

“Your point?” Halley asked, barely looking at Dr. Nikos.

“We don’t have any predators working in the hospital. Everyone has had background checks and DNA test to make sure they are who they say are. To make myself clear, you will have male nurses working with you. However, they will not touch you in any way you’re uncomfortable with. All your tests will be done by our female nurses. Now, if you don’t want to be sedated, would you let a female nurse place a catheter?” Dr. Nikos assured and then asked, watching Halley and her movements.

“Why not? It’s not like I have a choice in it?” Halley answered, annoyed, placing her arms over her eyes.

“Well, ok then. Do you currently feel the need to use the bathroom?” Dr. Nikos asked, looking at Halley.

“No; I went an hour and a half ago.” Halley answered before rolling onto her side—that wasn’t connected to any IVs, cords, or wires.

“Ok. Well, we already know you’re not pregnant, so I’ll first have someone come up to get you for a CT scan and an MRI. Then you’ll be brought back, and a female nurse will be in after a bit to place a catheter and get a urine sample. A lab technician will also be up to get blood work, followed by a spinal tap. I think that’s all.” Dr. Nikos explained the procedures.

“Great.” Halley sarcastically replied.

“But before I go, I need to run over all the medications you’re on…” Dr. Nikos started but was interrupted.

“I don’t take any of that crap. None of it helps anyways.” Halley stated, mumbling.

“What about the Seasonique birth control pill?” Dr. Nikos asked, looking at Halley.

“That… Yes, that I take.” Halley honestly answered.

“And you’ve been on it since you were fourteen?” Dr. Nikos asked, kind of shocked.

“Yes… Daddy wanted me on it because of my history with doctors…” Halley mumbled.

“Ah, I see. Ok. I have to ask: have you been or currently sexually active?” Dr. Nikos asked, looking at Halley, who rolled back onto her back and managed to sit up.

“No, I have not been and am not sexually active. I don’t have a boyfriend, nor have I ever had one. Daddy put me on the birth control because of my history with doctors. Dr. Jamensen or whatever his name was and Dr. Hooper, and Dr. Kern, and all the other creeps out there! I’m not very bright or strong; I can’t defend myself! My dad just wanted me to be safe in case anything were to happen to me!” Halley snapped, tears running down her cheeks.

After a few seconds, she fell back to the bed, rolled back over, and started taking deep, sharp breaths.

“I’m sorry; I don’t mean to upset her. I have to ask.” Dr. Nikos apologized to Wesley.

“It’s ok; I understand. She’s just stressed.” Wesley replied.

“Yes, I see that. I also understand it. I do hope she feels better. I’ll be back once I get results. Have a nice rest of your day.” Dr. Nikos politely responded.

“You as well.” Wesley politely replied.

Dr. Nikos just smiled before walking out of the room.

*Sigh…* Halley, I know you’re stressed and don’t want to be here, but you’re sick. And as for Dr. Nikos… You can’t get mad at him for asking a question that’s required. And seeing as you’ve been on birth control since you were fourteen—which is generally unheard of. Do you understand what I’m telling you?” Wesley asked, looking at his sister.

“Yes, I understand perfectly. But it’s not what he asked; it’s how he asked. He asked in that condescending tone that a lot of people speak in when they talk to me—about everything. He doesn’t believe I’ve never had sex before.” Halley replied, trying to calm her breathing.

“Halley, you need to calm down; your blood pressure is already high enough as is. Elliot and I are always here; we’re not going anywhere. Your friends, when not in school, are here. None of us are going to let anything happen to you. You’re not alone. I understand if I’m not easy for you to be around, but I hope you’ll allow me to get to know you—or you’ll want to get to know me.” Wesley calmly told her, sitting next to her; he was a little surprised to watch her roll back onto her back and turn her head to look at him.

“You’re fine; I don’t have a problem being around you. I was told you looked like Daddy. And I knew what you looked like beforehand; Daddy somehow got a recent picture. I’m not going to sit—lay here and lie to you and say it’s easy, because it’s not. But it’s not horrid. It’s being here, in a hospital with doctors who say they’re there to help, but really, they don’t give a crap. I’m not smart; I know that. However, I also know how to read people. I know when people are genuine and who are fake. I know when someone is telling the truth and who are lying. I know who to trust and not to trust. And as I was saying before—uhh… Several days ago now, I think. I was telling a lot of people that all I wanted was to meet you—at least once. I would’ve been just happy with that. Even—even if you didn’t want to know me. Sorry.” Halley sincerely told Wesley before apologizing, becoming a little emotional.

“Hmmm… Honestly, I wish I would’ve known you sooner. I am so happy to get to meet you. Yes, it was a huge shock, but I’m glad to have more family—biological family. Ryou; he’s like a brother to me. And I suppose I should ask you this because it’s only fair; it’s not fair for me to just say this or that. But do you want to stay here—or do you want to go back to Italy?” Wesley responded and then asked, looking at Halley.

“We can stay here.” Halley started.

“Are you sure?” Wesley asked, stunned, looking at his sister.

“What’s the point of going back to Italy when I have nothing or no one there? Daddy’s—dead, and my only two friends moved here a week after I did. It’s amazing they had family here as well so that they could move. I’m not sure of what cemetery he’s at, but Grandma and Grandpa had Daddy’s body shipped to be buried here. I’m sure Grandma has it written down somewhere. And as much as I love Nessie and Fallow, I would miss them because I wouldn’t—couldn’t make you leave all you have. You have a lot here. You’re head baker at that café. You have Elliot and all those girls you’re friends with. Don’t. I know what you’re going to say. I only have two friends—which, if they hadn’t come all the way here, I have a laptop, iPad, and an iPad; I can talk to them on those using the video camera thing. I wouldn’t be able to call them over the phone because of distance, but we could get this texting app thing that allows someone to talk to people all around the world. I also have a fire tablet that Daddy got me for reading and watching movies; I think that has a video chat thing. You have too much here to give up. Besides, what I’ve learned (because Daddy always drilled it into my head) “It’s not where you are; it’s who you’re with.” That was one of his favorite things to say. That and, “Perfect is as perfect does. Ain’t nobody perfect.” But that last one, he said I used to go around saying when I was really little. He wouldn’t be caught dead using “Ain’t.” Among a list of other words…” Halley sincerely told Wesley before going off into her memories.

“He wasn’t a fan of the word “ain’t?” Wesley asked, looking at Halley.

“Huh?” Halley asked, a little dazed.

“Daddy—he didn’t like the word “ain’t?” Are you feeling ok?” Wesley asked again.

“Oh. Yeah, I’m ok—just tired. And no, he didn’t like “ain’t;” he hated it. “Ain’t isn’t a word. Just because it’s in the dictionary now doesn’t make it a word.” He would always say. Nessie, Fallon, and I drove him crazy, saying it. It was almost as if it were a swear word. But we couldn’t get in actual trouble for saying it because it’s not a swear word.” Halley explained.

“So you did it just to torment him?” Elliot asked, finally saying something.

“No. Not me anyway. I mean, sure I said it—often, but I didn’t try to torment him by saying it. Fallon, on the other hand, always got under his skin; she drove him crazy—until Nessie would smack her over the head, and then drag her away.” Halley answered with a small smile.

“You’ve known those two for a long time now, haven’t you?” Wesley asked, watching Halley remember; it kept her mind off of where she was.

“Ten years, I think. I was five when I met them at a park. It’s not like I wasn’t used to it—and still am, but I was being bullied by some other kids. Mainly for being weird or stupid or playing by myself. Daddy took me to the same park every Friday and Saturday unless it was raining. He took me to a different park every Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday were random different places or activities. And Sundays we stayed home and did whatever. That was usually the day I’d play  _ Chess _ with Elliot over the phone.” Halley started explaining before drifting to a different subject.

“Sorry. Umm… I’ve always been picked on for different reasons. Being weird, stupid, or playing by myself were big ones along being called a liar because I’m smaller than most my age. I’ve always been smaller, so most often confuse me for being younger than I actually am. The other kids would ask how old I was, and I’d tell them five. They would call me a liar; I had to be three at least—maybe four. I think that hurt the most—being called a liar. I mean, I’m used to that as well, but it’s not true. Until I met Nessie and Fallon, Daddy never knew about the bullying. I always told him I fell off something or tripped. Which for me—isn’t that far off. And the entire reason I didn’t want Daddy knowing happened. All the parents got involved that day and started yelling at each other because Nessie and Fallon pushed the other kids away and over and started jumping on and beating them up. Their parents saying they were just defending the child (me) who couldn’t defend herself. It was one against five. How fair is that. Not to mention all of them were at least four years older than myself. Nessie’s Mom and Fallon’s Mom were kind of friends with Daddy before that and talked; they talked even more after we became friends. Though, I don’t know why…” Halley apologized, explained, and then mumbled.

“You don’t like their parents?” Wesley and Elliot asked, looking at Halley.

“Ummm…” Halley started, unsure of what to say.

“My parents were alcoholics and drug abusers—among other things. They were always good at hiding—everything. They always wanted me to invite Halley over, but I always told her and her dad not to let her. Eventually, Tony cornered me and made me tell him what was going on. My mom beat me. And my dad molested and once I reached a certain age, started raping me. I never invited Halley or Fallon over because he expressed interest in them—and I knew what that meant. After that, I pretty much lived with Halley and her dad. Every now and then I’d have to go home, or they may notice that I wasn’t home. Before you ask, CPS didn’t do shit back there. Until about a year and a half or two years ago when I just moved in because my parents were taken to prison for several different things.” Venessa explained, walking into the room.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but why are you here? Don’t you have school?” Halley asked, confused.

“Early release. Fallon would be here—she wanted to be here, but she’s got pneumonia. As much as I love her, this is what she gets for running in the rain, wind, and mud—and then not doing anything about it except for jumping in a river. She’s stuck in bed; her dad is keeping a close eye on her because he knows how she is. Stubborn, crazy, and likes to do what she likes. Fallon lives with her dad now, by they way, and they’re both very happy with that. Fallon’s mother is batshit crazy. Fallon was three when her parents got divorced and kept her from her dad. He tried everything to be able to see her—and get custody. But nothing seemed to work—despite the fact that her mother a legally diagnosed Schizophrenic with Bipolar and multiple personalities. Yeah. Her mother was diagnosed with Bipolar at nine, Schizophrenia at twelve, and multiple personalities at fifteen. Yes, Fallon’s been tested for all of those. No, she doesn’t have any of ‘em; she just has ADHD and can’t sit still and is always going. Yes, her mom was nice—when Halley was around. If it was just me and Fallon, she freaked out. But she’s also homophobic. Her dad, on the other hand, is strict, but nice—and he’s gay. He came out when Fallon was eight—so eight years ago. He’s actually the reason I came out as a lesbian. But anyway, because of my parents and Fallon’s mom, we ended up seeing Dr. Kern. Well, they were one reason; there were others.” Venessa explained, looking at Wesley and Elliot.

“Ok… So before I get to you, how the hell did you always beat me at  _ Chess _ when we couldn’t see each other’s plays?” Elliot asked, looking at Halley, slightly frustrated.

“We said our moves, did we not?” Halley answered, confused.

“Yes, but still. How did you remember all the places I told you?” Elliot asked, looking at her.

“You told me your moves and I’d move the opposite pieces to the spots you said. Didn’t you do that?” Halley answered and then asked, looking at Elliot, who just stared blankly at her.

“By that look, I’m guessing he didn’t.” Venessa pointed out.

“Why didn’t I think of doing that?” Elliot asked in shock, sinking into his chair.

“I don’t know. Why didn’t you? I suggested it before we moved to Italy; you said it’d be a great idea—if I remember correctly.” Halley told Elliot.

“I was probably so busy with school and everything that I lost that train of thought…” Elliot muttered, looking at the ceiling.

“Ok. So what about me?” Venessa asked, looking at Elliot.

“Hmmm?” Elliot hummed, looking at Venessa.

“Before you asked her about  _ Chess _ , you said you’d get to me. What did you mean?” Venessa reminded Elliot and then asked, looking at him.

“Oh, right. I’m assuming we’re going to be seeing you more because of Halley because Wesley won’t make you stop hanging out with each other—neither will I. With that said, your name is Venessa, but Halley calls you “Nessie.” Is that something you prefer?” Elliot explained and then asked.

“Oh, that. No. Halley and Fallon are the only ones who calls me “Nessie” because when we first met, Halley couldn’t quite say “Venessa.” And even though she can now say my name, she still calls me “Nessie.” It’s just something we all got used to. She used to call Fallon “Fallen.” But that one didn’t stick because once they got old enough; people used to pick on Fallon’s name by calling her “Fallen.” I mean, eventually, she just started laughing and saying shit before the bullies could. But now Halley just calls her by her name. But to be fair, I still pick on her. Sometimes she just makes it too easy. But anyway, you can call me “Venessa” or “Nessa.” Fallon normally calls me by name or “Nessa.” But every now and then, she’ll say “Nessie,” despite the fact that she knows I really only all Halley to call me that. I don’t think I ever said to either of you, but it’s nice to finally have faces to the people Halley talked about. Nice to meet who was friends with her before me and Fallon—who didn’t pick on or bully her. Nice to  **_ finally _ ** meet her older brother. With Tony, you were notoriously famous. Every day he had a different story. And up until Dr. Kern, Halley always mentioned Elliot. So, I don’t mean to be rude or anything; and I sincerely apologize for what’s about to come out of my mouth. But holy shit; you really do almost look like a fucking carbon copy of him!” Venessa answered and explained before apologizing to and shouting at Wesley.

“Well, thank you for apologizing, but it’s fine. I’ve already been told I look exactly like him. As hard as it has to be for Halley, it can’t be easy for you or Fallon either. You were all pretty close to Dad.” Wesley told Venessa.

“Ah. You’re trying, I see. You know, Halley understands that you had a good life growing up and had “parents” who took care of you. She does understand that because you were so young that you consider them your parents.” Venessa told Wesley.

“Yeah, I know. But, as Grandma said, Tony was my dad just as much as he was Halley’s. Same with her and Grandpa. Family to me is family—whether a person sees them or not. So long as we’re blood related—that’s all that matters to me. And as nice as my parents were, they weren’t really my parents. However, I will always consider them as such because they did raise since they took me. I suppose that leaves my biological mom…” Wesley explained and then sighed.

“Wow… You even talk and act like Tony; you have the same personality. Well, except for the concept of who took care of you. But anyway, your mom is your business; you do what you want. Now, as for you. How is it going? Are you getting out of this place today?” Venessa noted, somewhat freaked out before explaining and then asking Halley.

“No…” Halley mumbled.

“Why not?” Venessa asked, confused.

“I’m not getting enough water, my blood sugar is low, and my blood pressure is high.” Halley dully explained.

“Still? I mean, I know I haven’t been here in a few days because of tests and such… But really? Still?” Venessa asked, looking at Halley, shocked.

“And she’s still getting dizzy spells. I’m not trying to embarrass her, but because of those dizzy spells, she can’t get up to use the bathroom, so they’re going to put a catheter in.” Wesley added, causing Halley to groan.

“Jeez, I’m sorry.” Venessa apologized.

“It’s not your fault.” Halley softly replied, looking at the ceiling.

“So, where are you staying now—if both of your parents are in prison?” Elliot asked, looking at Venessa.

“Here and there.” Venessa answered.

“Do you not have a place?” Wesley and Elliot asked, shocked.

“Oh, no. Sorry. Technically, I live with my uncle on my mom’s side and his husband. Sometimes I stay with Fallon and her dad. I stayed with Halley, Grandma, and Conrad twice. Sometimes I just get a tent and pitch it somewhere. But that’s only on weekends. One of the conditions for me leaving Italy, coming here and being able to live wherever, whenever I want, I have to go to school—which from my uncle and his husband’s place is five minutes. From Halley and your place now, it’s about ten minutes. And from Fallon and her dad’s place, it’s roughly half an hour on foot. All places are in walking distance.” Venessa answered.

“Do you not like your uncles?” Wesley asked, concerned.

“Yep. So much like Tony. I love my uncle; that’s my mom’s youngest brother. He’s great. It’s his husband—or kids that I don’t like. My uncle’s husband and cousins are what I call spoiled rich people. I mean, my mom’s side comes from money, but she spent all hers on alcohol and drugs. So, naturally, my uncle’s husband assumes I’m going to turn out the same way. And my cousins—well, they all think they should get whatever they want—including half of my things. And they have tried just taking them. So, most of my things that they want are in a spare room at Fallon’s or a spare room at Halley and your place. The only thing I keep at my uncle’s place are my clothes. My things are in the smallest room with a treadmill, stationary bike, sewing stuff, and some books. I can always move them later if you’d like. But from what Grandma told me before she passed, you’re supposed to get their bedroom and Elliot will get the next biggest room after Halley’s. They’re all decent-sized rooms. And aside from the room I have my things in, the other two rooms have beds in them. The one in Elliot’s room hasn’t been used in God only knows how long. And, unless you don’t want it, you’d get your grandparents’ bed.” Venessa told Wesley and Elliot.

“You’re fine to keep your things in that room. And if you ever feel uncomfortable at your uncle’s because of whoever, you’re always welcome at the house. I’m sure Halley would prefer that over you being uncomfortable.” Wesley told Venessa.

“Thanks. I’ll remember you said that.” Venessa replied with a smile before someone came in to take Halley to get her CT and MRI scans…


End file.
